just try to keep up
by icanhearyouglaring
Summary: 25. Things are different now; they're learning to live with it. (A collection of Spitfire drabbles/requests.)
1. Chapter 1

This is where I'll post some of the prompts I get from tumblr. Have fun. (Best viewed in 3/4)

* * *

**_Anon asked: One of the two (Artemis/Wally) gets turned into a four year old and the other has to take care of them alone while the rest of the Team goes on a mission to figure out how to fix them?_**

**_~o~_**

"Stop laughing," Artemis slams her hand against the dry-erase board they placed on an easel, "And start guessing!"

She waves her marker at her partner, who dissolves into giggles. Robin motions for her to continue drawing, even through his laughs at her feeble attempts this round. She can hear Zatanna, Raquel, and Wally laughing, too. She sort of wishes she had pulled Wally's name from the hat, because they sort of have their own shitty-drawing language- but such is fate.

"I'm not an artist." She grumbles before she wipes away her bankand starts drawing money bags. Robin calls out '_bank, bank, cash, bank, thief, cat burglar, catwoman, bank_'. Artemis draws a crude, smug stick figure next to the money bags. As time begins to run out, she throws a line with two boxes on the top. The alarm on the timer they're using dings just as Robin shouts, '_WALLSTREET_'.

"Yes!" Artemis throws down the black marker and sighs, "You draw next-"

The lights in the cave go out for a few seconds and everyone tenses. That shouldn't be happening.

Aqualad stands up first, "M'gann."

_Everyone is linked._ M'gann nods and looks to Robin, _Are you picking up anything strange? I sense something… strange… _

_I sense it, too.. It's almost like magic…_ Zatanna scans the room with her eyes.

Robin nods as he types on his wrist and a screen materializes, _There's an unfamiliar energy source in the cave…I'm trying to locate it now. _

"Can I play next?" A merry voice chirps from above them all. Eight sets of eyes fly up, but only seven people tense for battle.

"Oh no," Superboy groans and his shoulders drop, "Not this guy."

"Superboy! This is where you live? Are these your friends? Introduce me!" The small man floats down to the teenagers level. He wears a green pinstripe suit, an equally green top hat, and Artemis is pretty sure he's holding a miniature cane behind his back. She glances at her teammate, _You know him?_

Superboy grimaces, _Unfortunately. Mr. Myxlptlk._

_Bless you_, Zatanna nods.

_No, that's his name. A mouthful, I know. He's from another dimension. He can bend reality, extremely powerful, but not usually dangerous. He just likes coming here to bother Superman— and me, ever since he found out I existed. It's all a game to him. _

The dimension hopping magic man hovers in place as the team surrounds him on all sides.

_Be ready for anything,_ Aqualad orders as his tattoos begin to glow. Artemis isn't in uniform, but she does have her collapsable crossbow strapped to her leg, and her hand hovers over the clasp. She takes a look around the circle. Raquel's hands glow, Zatanna is whispering something to herself, Robin has his hand over his belt, M'gann is starting to lift off the ground, Wally's fists are rising, and Superboy- he just looks like he's got a headache coming on.

"You kids look like a little angry. You don't want me to play?" Myxlptlk pouts, and Artemis snorts.

"We're not kids." She quips, as her fingers tug on the top of her bow.

Myxlpltlk turns to her and places a hand on his chin, "Really? You sure look like a kid."

As soon as 'kid' leaves his mouth, he snaps his fingers.

That's the last sound she hears before it all goes dark.

**~o~**

Wally is used to having 'weird days'. He's a superhero. It comes with the territory. Still, he's going to have to put today pretty high up on his list of weird days.

When the smoke begins to clear where Artemis is standing, she's gone.

"What did you-" Wally starts to shout, but he's cut off by the floating man's loud, snorting laughter.

The speedster runs to where the archer had been just a second ago, and the remaining smoke blows away. Suddenly, Wally sees exactly why the dimension tourist is laughing. He kind of wants to laugh- and he would, if the situation wasn't so insane.

On the ground, in a miniature version of the civvies she'd been wearing, is… a child.. thing… that _kind of, sort of_, looks a lot like Artemis. Her hair is barely past her shoulders and sticking in all directions and a tiny olive hand brushes it out of her big grey eyes slowly. She looks awfully confused- but Wally's a little more concerned about the crossbow sitting in her lap. He swipes it away before she can notice it in her grogginess.

"Myxlptlk!" Superboy barks angrily, "Change her back, now!"

The man floats upside down and flies higher, "Where's the fun in that?"

Wally places the crossbow in another room before he speeds back and picks up his… miniature… girlfriend…_ So weird._ She doesn't protest when he holds her at his hip, in fact, she leans into him and yawns.

"Change her back!" Wally growls, and the tiny Artemis doesn't stir.

"I like her better like this," Mr. Myxlptlk decides, "She's a lot less of a buzzkill this way. And the only thing I'm changing is my mind. I don't want to play with you spoilsports- I want to see where Superboy lives! I've seen Metropolis, but let's see what Happy Harbor has to offer."

All at once, Kaldur, M'gann, Conner, and Raquel jump towards the flying man, but he disappears in a plume of green smoke.

Zatanna rushes over to where Wally is still standing with Artemis, who is now asleep in his arms.

Wally looks desperately between the two girls, "Can you fix her?"

"I can try." Zatanna takes a deep breath and extends her arms toward Artemis before shouting, "_Nrut Simetra kcab otni a neet_!"

The most she does is wake Artemis up because of the yelling. And this time, the little girl is not in a daze. Her eyes widen when she sees Zatanna pointing her hands at her. She tries to scoot away, but Wally hangs onto her.

"Where am I?" She struggles in his grasp and looks up. Her eyes begin to well up with tears and she struggles harder.

"Artemis, stop." Wally tries to hang onto her, but she's so wiggly.

"No!" Her tiny teeth dig into his arm and he yelps and lets go of her, but she doesn't hit the ground. Wally rubs his arm as M'gann levitates the tiny demon into the air.

"_Ega Simetra_." Zatanna tries again, and again, and again- before Conner stops her.

"Myxlptlk is really powerful in this dimension. I don't think you're going to be able to fix this. I'm not even sure if Doctor Fate could," Conner glances at Artemis, who is trying to fight M'gann's hold, "The only one who can reverse this is Myxlpltk, and the only way he'll do it is if we find him and make a deal."

Wally glares at the still-dissipating green smoke and his nails dig into his palms, "Then let's go find him. He said he was going to see Happy Harbor."

There's a general murmur of agreement when they all hear sniffles.

"Lemme down… Please." Artemis has stopped fighting- and big tears make their way down her round cheeks. _Ouch, my soul,_ Wally thinks, before he motions for M'gann to bring Artemis down to the ground. The Martian gently places the blonde on her feet and Wally stoops down to her level.

"Hey, don't cry- we're the good guys. You're safe." He gives her the best 'hero' smile he can, but she doesn't stop sniffling and wringing her grey shirt in her hands. The entire team watches and waits for her to react when Wally holds his hand out to her. "Artemis?"

She starts to reach out for his hand but stops herself just short of contact, "Who are you people? Where is my Mom?"

Wally bites his lip and looks around. _H E L P_. M'gann lets out a quick 'oh' and flies out of the room. _Yes, thank you, that is so much help_, Wally grimaces. He looks to his best friend for assistance but the Boy Wonder is busy… taking _pictures_-

"Seriously!" Wally rolls his eyes and takes Artemis' little hand before he says, "We're a team of heroes. I'm Kid Flash. And that guy with the cape over there, you see, the one taking pictures instead of being helpful? That's Robin."

Artemis sways and her free hand comes up to her mouth, "My daddy don't like heroes. He'll be mad you kidnapped me."

Wait what.

"We didn't kidnap you, I swear! Uh-" Wally is saved from answering when M'gann swoops back into the room with a phone - Artemis' cell phone- in hand.

"I'm called her mom. She wants to talk to her." M'gann smiles as she hands Artemis the phone. It looks enormous in her hands.

"Momma? Momma, I'm sorry I got kidnapped-" Artemis turns away from Wally and he takes the opportunity to address the team.

"You guys go find him. I'm going to stay here with Artemis in case he comes back."

Kaldur nods and there's a noticeable change in his demeanor, "Miss Martian, Rocket, Robin, take the bioship and scan the skies of Happy Harbor. Superboy, Zatanna, and I will take the Supercycle and search from the ground."

"The little imp likes to bother me- trust me, he won't be too hard to find." Superboy sighs, "We just need to make sure no one else gets involved in his antics."

Artemis tugs on Wally's pant leg and holds the phone to him, "Momma wants to talk to you, Kid."

_Oh…Uh_. He takes the phone and accepts his fate, "Hi, Paula."

"She sounded very convinced she had been kidnapped. I told her you were taking care of her for the day. She shouldn't be difficult… But Wally- tell me this will be fixed soon."

Wally glances at the little blonde by his legs, "We're working on it now. Don't worry."

Paula sighs, "If I didn't, what kind of mother would I be? Please let me know as soon as you've gotten her back to normal. And she likes gummy bears. And coloring books. And do not let her near a bow."

"I've got it all handled," Wally half-believes himself, "All our friends are here. I'll call you the minute she's back."

"My daughter is lucky to have such great friends. Thank you so much. Goodbye."

"Bye," He presses the end button- and finds that all of his friends have abandoned him (without so much as a goodbye glance) with the pint-sized version of his girlfriend. _Such great friends._

Artemis tugs on his pant leg again, "I have to pee."

**~o~**

He finds a League-themed coloring book and a twelve pack of crayons in the storage closet M'gann uses to hold her craft supplies in. Perfect for the little girl who has been chanting '_I'm bored, I'm bored, I'm bored, I'm bored, I'm bored_' for the last six minutes. When he zips back into the lounge, Artemis is not on the couch where he left her.

"Artemis? Where are you?"

Silence is his answer. _Okay, she couldn't have gotten far, don't panic-_

A smothered giggle echoes in the empty room.

"Artemis, come out here, I've got a surprise for you-"

A voice squeaks near his feet, "A s'prise?" _Thump_.

Artemis crawls out from under the coffee table, rubbing a spot on her head.

"You okay?" Wally touches the spot she's rubbing but she pulls away.

"I'm okay. S'prise?"

He points to the crayons and the book on the very table she had been hiding under. Her eyes light up.

"Colors? I can colors?"

Wally nods with a bright smile, and Artemis pulls herself up onto the couch and stands on the cushions as she hugs him tightly.

"Thank you! I love colors." She plops back down to the floor and he pulls the table closer to the couch so she can reach everything. She flips through the book, skipping over Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Batman, and Superman, until she gets to a page with Hawkgirl on it. She pulls a green crayon from the box and colors in the lines with careful precision. Wally's comm goes off just as she finishes the first boot. Robin sounds a tad breathless as he says,

'_KF, we've made contact. We have to make him take off his shoes before he goes back to where he came from and changes Artemis back.'_

_"Alright, Robin, thanks for the update. Steal his shoes."_

_'A little harder than it sounds.'_

Wally's comm turns off and he picks a red crayon from the box. The page next to Hawkgirl is Red Tornado.

"Can I color him?"

Artemis doesn't stop coloring, "As long as you don't mess me up."

So much pressure. He colors at a slow pace, mostly because he doesn't want her to get mad at him.

"So… you like Hawkgirl?" He asks.

Artemis nods slowly, "She can fly, and throw things."

"Cool."

"Yup," She says as she picks a brown crayon out of the box, "But don't tell Daddy I say that."

Wally blinks, "Oh?"

"Daddy don't like heroes. So I can't like 'em, 'cept I do."

"Why?" He really shouldn't be asking, considering he already knows. But- she's never really gone into much detail.

"Umm, heroes do good things. Save people, fix stuff. Better than Daddy's friends. They break things, and hurt people. I don't like hurting."

"That's a good reason." Wally nods and switches his red for a yellow.

"You're a hero? You got powers." She stops coloring and waits for a response.

"Oh yeah, I'm Kid Flash. I can run really fast." He wiggles his eyebrows and she laughs.

She puts down the crayon in her hand. "Show me."

He runs around the couch twice and she has to fix her hair out of her eyes because of the air he just swept around her.

"See, super speed." He grins at her.

Artemis' eyes glow with excitement, but then he notices she isn't looking at him. He turns to find Wolf strolling into the room.

"Is that a doggie?" She jumps off the couch cushion and heads straight for the wolf that is looking at her like a stranger. _Oh shit_.

"I love doggies!"

**~o~**

'_Please tell me you got him to take off his shoes.'_

"Not quite, KF, still working on it." Robin throws a paint can at the imp, but he disappears just in time for Conner to get a face full of orange paint.

'_Artemis has been riding Wolf like some sort of dog-horse hybrid and she won't get off and Wolf won't let me take her down.'_

"Take pictures."

'_Get. The damn. Shoes._'

**~o~**

Eventually, Artemis' head begins to droop as Wolf parades her around the Cave. The excitement of the day is catching up to her, and Wally sees his chance to get through the day without incident.

"Artemis, want to watch a movie?"

"Movie?" She yawns as Wolf stops near the lounge couch. She rolls off of him, pats his head, and lies down across two cushions. Wolf lies between the couch and the coffee table, also tired out. Wally picks out her favorite from underneath the T.V. and puts it in the dvd player.

"Alice in Wonderland." He says, as he takes a seat next to her.

"I like Alice." She sits back and watches as he goes through the main menu and presses play. "Jade likes Alice too."

She's a trooper, because she actually makes it a third-way through the movie before she starts snoring, high pitched, squeaky snores that make Wally laugh. He runs to pick up a blanket and pillow from his room at the Cave. Artemis doesn't resist when he picks up her head a little to put the pillow in place, and she grips the throw blanket with both hands after he covers her.

He mentally pats himself on the back. Today has been so freaking weird. Ninja girlfriend gets turned into a four year old by a transdimensional traveller?_ Definitely in the top 10._

**~o~**

When they wake up in the morning, Artemis is back to her normal age, Wally and Wolf are cuddling on the floor, and a collage of photos and a pair of really strange-looking shoes sit before them on the coffee table.


	2. Chapter 2

**jncera: Here's a Spitfire drabble prompt: peaceful stargazing in the forest turns into wolf pack attack. yikes.**

**~o~**

"C'mon," Artemis takes her boyfriend's hand and continues whispering, "Conner and M'gann already ditched to go make out. It's our turn."

"_Artemis_." He blushes and no one can tell in the dim lighting but her, not that anyone was paying them any attention anyways. It had been decided that the Team would go camping on their weekend off because they hadn't actually gone camping the first time and they had new friends to 'initiate'. Said new friends were currently engaged in a thrilling round of 'who can tell the scariest story' and clearly Zatanna was winning, seeing as Raquel had her hands over her face and was peeking through her fingers. It wasn't exactly fair, because Zatanna was using magic to emphasize the more powerful points in her story, but _oh well. _

"What?" She laughs, pulling his hand, "They won't even notice we're gone, _Ninja Boyfriend_."

It really doesn't take much more than that to convince him.

The forest they're in has a narrow river winding through it and when they reach the bank, Artemis finds a nice dry rock for them to sit on. She lives for these moments; the ones when it's just them and no one is trying to kill them and they can just _be_, together. They lie back on the rock and use Wally's jacket as a pillow and watch the stars and it's all so normal but at the same time not. In Gotham, the stars don't shine like this. Wally points out all the constellations he can find and Artemis listens as he goes on and on about how if he was a pirate, he'd never get lost at sea. Eventually, she cuts him off and raises a question,

"Which do you think would be cooler: being a pirate or a ninja?"

"Define _cooler_."

Artemis shakes her head, "You're stuck in a room with no doors or windows. There are two red buttons, side by side on one of the walls. One says pirate. One says ninja. Which one do you press?"

He rolls onto his side to meet her eyes, "How did I get in the room if there are no doors or windows?"

"They put you in before they added the roof. Pirate or ninja."

He takes a long moment to contemplate before he asks, "Who are _they_?"

"Wally."

They both laugh, until a loud growl (that isn't Wally's stomach, she knows that sound) interrupts their moment.

Wally freezes. "That wasn't me."

"I know…"

They sit up and Artemis unfolds Wally's jacket before she hands it to him slowly. Her eyes scan the river, but she doesn't see any unusual movement. They stand and she checks the tree line behind them while Wally looks the other way. Nothing- but it's too quiet in the forest now. Her right hand drifts to the collapsable crossbow hidden in her boot.

"Uh, Babe?"

Her fingers still on the top of the weapon and she murmurs, "Hm?"

"Please tell me Conner brought Wolf and didn't tell us."

Another growl sounds, and this time she places it as coming from the other side of the river. With a fluid spin, she pulls her crossbow out and and opens it up. Wally gives her an incredulous look.

"Where were you keeping _that_?"

"Not important," She aims her crossbow at the shadow coming out of the tree line on the other side of the river, "That's a big wolf."

"We're not that lucky," he says in a low tone, "He's not alone."

Sure enough, four other wolves reveal themselves, and their sharp eyes follow the teenagers every twitch.

"What do we do?" Unwillingly, Artemis thinks back to the time her dad left her and Jade in the wilderness for a night with only a pack of matches and Jade's short sword. _Bastard_. She steps closer to Wally, thinking this might not be the right time to curse her dad.

"I've read you're supposed to be really loud and stand your ground." Wally suggests.

Three of the wolves start nearing the water.

Artemis accidentally makes eye contact with what appears to be the alpha. The beast bares its teeth.

"Or we could run?" She hangs onto her crossbow and jumps into the air, knowing Wally will catch her (_which he does_) and they'll speed off back to camp (_which they do_).

"Just our luck, right?" Wally chuckles as they stumble back into camp.

Artemis folds up her weapon and rolls her eyes, "Totally."

The smiles forming on their faces disappear as soon as they take in the state of their campsite. The two large tents are in shambles, ripped in some places, with some poles sticking out at odd angles. The fire has been trampled, embers dying before their eyes. Artemis reopens her crossbow and Wally stands next to her, ready.

"What-" She has to shake herself, "What happened?"

A growl sounds behind the broken tents.

"No way-" Wally groans, and Artemis takes a step back so that their backs are touching.

"Where the heck are the others?" She takes a look around, but there are no signs of their friends, only six wolves forming a circle around her and Wally. She sneers at the one taking steps towards her and aims her crossbow at it. That just makes it angry.

A light catches her eye behind the wolf. She gasps in horror.

"Robin!"

The Boy Wonder is _covered_ in blood and she's terrified to think that all of it's his. He's in a tree, holding a shaky finger to his lips. And then he collapses. And falls out of the tree.

"No!" Wally yells, and Artemis screams, but it's too late. The wolves nearest Robin have already launched themselves at the small boy. She fires arrows at the wolves, and Wally speeds off to knock them away from his best friend.

Her first arrow makes contact- and the wolf disappears in a plume of smoke. As do the other wolves_ and Robin_. Wally runs right through it.

Artemis sees red.

"What the fuck-"

"_Pots eht noisulli_!"

Before their eyes, the camp reassembles itself- tents in pristine condition and the fire roaring. The rest of the team emerges from behind the tents, in various stages of laughter. Robin is cackling, wiping at his eyes. Zatanna has a hand over her mouth, trying to stifle her own insane laughter, while Raquel is leaning against Kaldur, failing to control her breathing and snorting giggles. Conner and M'gann are laughing without shame. Kaldur isn't laughing, but he wears a smile that angers Artemis more than all the others.

"You guys are the worst!" She angrily tucks her crossbow back into her boot and balls her fists. "That wasn't funny!"

Wally appears at her side and nods, glaring at Robin as he puts his arm over her shoulders, "Yeah, so not cool."

Robin holds his hands up, "Wasn't my idea- at first."

Artemis takes a dangerous step forward, "I _cannot_ _believe_ you'd-"

Zatanna levitates graham crackers, chocolate, and marshmallows between them, "You guys were going to miss this, and you skipped out on scary story time - so we just thought you should get the full experience. We don't go camping everyday."

If the magician hadn't been giggling throughout her explanation, Artemis might have calmed down a bit.

Instead, she contemplates taking her crossbow back out. Wally squeezes her shoulder and she reads his body language. _It wasn't real, please calm down, actually you're cute when you're angry, but let's eat sugar until our adrenaline wears off, then we can be mad again._ She lets out a long, suffering sigh.

"All of you- watch your backs. No one is safe tonight." Artemis grabs a marshmallow and a bit of chocolate from the air as she gives everyone a warning look.

As they all settle down by the fire, Wally whispers in her ear,

"Ninja. Definitely ninja."


	3. Chapter 3

**Anon asked: Spitfire drunk hook up/party antics. Anything fluffy and teen years, please! And thank you :D**

**~o~**

**~AU~**

Maybe taking the party back to the dorms wasn't the best idea, but by that point, none of them were making too many great decisions.

Artemis and Raquel had ditched their heels back at the house party and Megan had had to be carried all the way back to their building. They slipped in through a side door to bypass the lobby and avoid questioning, because a bunch of beyond buzzed eighteen-nineteen-twenty year olds were sure to be stopped by the unlucky person at the front desk. The elevator ride was filled with shushing and shoving and if _any_ RA had seen them, they'd all have been written up and/or laughed at for the rest of the school year.

By the time they reached Artemis and Megan's room, Wally had sobered up a lot and Kaldur had his hands full supporting Raquel, Zatanna, _and_ Dick. Conner had his hands full with/of Megan. Everyone settled into the 14x16 room, stealing pillows from beds and making a half-assed circle on the floor while Artemis clawed through her closet in search of-

"Bingo." She pulled a tall, clear bottle from behind her hamper and set it in the circle. "Thank you, Jade."

Her boyfriend nodded his approval, as he uncovered the corny shot glasses she kept tucked under her bed, "Yes, thank you, Jade, for the imminent hangover."

Wally took a quick look around, "Who's in?"

"Just one more couldn't hurt." Megan giggled from her bed, where she was hanging upside down and waiting for a shot to be passed her way.

Conner put his hand up, "One more could hurt_ a lot_. You're cut off."

Wally rolled his eyes and passed a shot glass to Zatanna, who passed it to Dick, who passed it to Raquel, who examined the contents with a little pride.

"How many will this be?" She asked the room, but only Dick gave her a number, '_14_'. She nodded and kept the glass, "I'm still good."

Artemis climbed over her bed, and Wally, Zatanna, and Dick, to get to Megan's side of the room. She plugged in the star lights Megan had set up and flipped off the main light in the room, plunging their little after-party into a chilled ambience. She moved back over to her bed, where she opened her laptop and put on a good playlist before she grinned.

She squeezed in between Zatanna and Wally. "Gimme Lightning."

Lightning, the affectionately named double glass, found its way into her hands, filled with vodka_ with love_. The rest of the regular glasses were passed out until everyone but Megan had a little alcohol in their hands. Artemis scanned their little circle of friends and smiled. In the morning, she'd blame her sentimentality on the alcohol, but really-

"You guys are _seriously_ the best friends _ever_."

They all took a shot to that. Between the conversations that aren't funny and the consumption of even _more_ alcohol, Wally's arm found its way around her and at some point, they climbed up to sit on her bed and where did Kal and Raquel go-

"We should take pictures," Wally's whisper sent a pleasant warmth through her and she looked over to where he was pointing, "So they can't deny it in the morning. Maybe they'll give up and just get together already."

Artemis already had her phone out, so- why not? She bent over the side of her bed to take pictures of Dick and Zatanna, who were collapsed on top of each other in an uncomfortable-looking cuddle on the floor. She'll send the pictures to both of them in a few days. She looked over the other side of her bed and found Kal and Raquel asleep too, leaning against her closet and the wall. Both of their phones are in their laps, still open with 'Fun Run' flashing on the screens. Artemis took some more pictures before she carefully placed her phone somewhere at the end of her bed.

She pulled her boyfriend down with her and they maneuvered on her twin-sized bed until they fit, mostly. She was hot from the alcohol in her system, as was he, but the window was open and the breeze kept the room cool enough for them to cuddle comfortably.

"You're pretty sappy when you're drunk," Wally took a piece of her hair and twirled it around his fingers, "You know that?"

"Better than being Ms. Giggles."

"True," He tangled his fingers in her hair, "Although, next time, you should save the emotional speeches for when we get back, instead of making them on some dude's coffee table. I didn't even have time to get it on video."

Artemis sighed lightly, "Those words came straight from the heart, Slowpoke. I think 'Tanna got it though, if you're really upset."

Wally turned so their faces were nose to nose and smiled. The music that drifted from her laptop- how had that gotten under Megan's bed?- was drowned out by the sound of his breaths and the feel of his pulse underneath her fingertips overrode her instinct to move.

"Wanna go to the drive-in tonight?"

_Dork_. Artemis pressed a lingering kiss on his lips before she rolled her eyes and climbed a little bit more on top of him.

"Yeah."


	4. Chapter 4

_**Anon asked: First date jitters fluff?**_

_**~o~**_

Okay, making out in space was one thing (a pretty freaking awesome thing if he thought about it), but an actual date? _D-a-t-e?_ He might have played up the Flirt-Master persona, but Wally West was not prepared for the d-word. But then he'd been talking to Artemis before she went home and he'd asked her to go ice skating with him on Saturday and 'it's a date' slipped out somewhere and he's not even sure he knows _how_ to skate anymore and it's already Friday- _yeah, he's so not ready for this._

He has few options. One: Cancel. Totally not going to do that. Two: Get seriously injured so he can't go. Can't do that without her figuring it out and torturing him forever. Three: Ask for advice.

The advice thing would work- if he could pick a person to ask. His first thought is to ask Uncle Barry because _'hey, mentor, your mentee needs guidance_', but he's guaranteed a sex-talk if he goes that route and he doesn't need any residual awkwardness from that during his.. date. With Artemis.

That might be part of why he's so nervous. This isn't just some girl, this is _Artemis_: the snarky, apple-scented blonde who could kick his ass physically and verbally, who sang nursery rhymes wrong to cheer up small children, who saved his hide before he even met her, who died but not really, who smacked him when he was being "too-much", who tasted better than chocolate ice cream, whose callused fingers made his skin crawl in the best way, and _fuck_\- this girl will be the death of him and they haven't even been on one date yet.

Wally picks up his phone and goes with option 3B: Conner.

To: Supey

9:32pm

'_DUDE. emergency_.'

It takes far too long for his friend to reply (three whole minutes).

From: Supey

9:35pm

'_What?!'_

To: Supey

9:35pm

_'I ASKED ARTEMIS TO GO SKATING WITH ME TOMORROW.'_

To: Supey

9:35pm

_'IT'S A DATE. A DA TE. HELP ME SUPEY'_

From: Supey

9:37pm

_'Have fun. Help what?'_

To: Supey

9:37pm

'_i donT KNOW WHAT TO DO. you have a girlfriend. what do i do_'

From: Supey

9:38pm

'_Do for what? Your date? Have fun?'_

To: Supey

9:38pm

'_ok 'have fun' isn't helping'_

To: Supey

9:39pm

_'im having a breakdown, dude, real advice please?'_

From: Supey

9:43pm

'_…What are you breaking down about?'_

To: Supey

9:44pm

_'i have a date w/ Artemis in less than 24 hrs. this is at the center of my breakdown. i don't want to ruin everything or do something dumb, which as u know, i am prone to do in front of her. so hELP ME'_

From: Supey

9:50pm

'_Relax. Artemis likes you and you obviously like her too. Have fun.'_

To: Supey

9:50pm

_'i thought we established that 'have fun' is NOT HELPING. and yah i like her, it's bc i like her that i'm freaking out. i don't even know what to do.' _

From: Supey

9:51pm

_'On dates, you have fun. If it's a good date, at the end, she'll say 'i had fun'. Look for the fun. Aim for fun. And relax. Goodnight wally.'_

To: Supey

9:53

_'…thanks con.'_


	5. Chapter 5

**_Anon asked: Some Spitfire Hurt/Comfort? Artemis breaks her foot on a mission, and Wally fusses over her while she's healing. Preferably season one/a bit after so we can get them in that adorable/awkward young love phase. ^^_**

**~o~**

_Team Year One, Mid-August._

_Mount Justice 19:23 _

Artemis winces when she hears Kaldur being slammed against the floor. She pauses her work and looks up from her station at the far side of the training area. Robin extends a hand to help his friend up and the two boys laugh together. Suddenly, Superboy drops down from the jump he must have taken and his landing shakes the cave floor enough that Robin and Kal end up on the ground again. She snorts. _Dorks_. She can't hear exactly what Superboy is saying, but judging by the way her boyfriend is now bent over with his hands on his knees, cackling madly, and how M'gann is smothering snickers, it has to be at least a _little_ funny.

Artemis sighs softly and pouts as she returns to fine tuning her new arrow prototype. After her and GA's last encounter with Merlyn, she definitely needed to step up her game.

Her pout turns into a sneer as she connects thin wires in an arrowhead. She wouldn't be doing much _stepping_ anytime soon. The sight of the heavy black boot on her right foot and the crutches leaning against the wall behind her are reminders of that. She sighs again and shuts the tip of the arrow._ Stupid- Stupid- Stupid-_

A tell-tale gust of air throws her ponytail back, and when she looks up, Wally is standing before her with a small grin. She glances behind him, and the rest of the team appears to be dispersing for the night. M'gann waves from the doorway and Artemis smiles back.

"Miss me?" He leans against the table so his face is suddenly very close to her own.

"Nope," She pops the 'p' as she scoots back in her chair, "You guys finished?"

Wally cracks his knuckles casually and he moves to grab her crutches for her, "Yeah, Kaldur's got to get to Atlantis for some ceremony, so we're done for the night."

"Thanks," her hands wrap around the handles just as his hands help her stand, "This sucks."

He throws her a sympathetic glance as he takes in the sight of the boot, "I'd be going _crazy_ if I couldn't run."

Artemis nods and they take the path the others had already made their way though, "I guess I should be happy it wasn't my arm, but this whole sit-by-and-watch thing isn't doing a lot of good for my sanity."

"You know what _would_ be good for your sanity?"

_It's the voice_, her mind screams at her to prepare herself for a cheesy line or an equally cheesy move that'll probably make her hit him so he won't notice how cute she thinks he is. _That voice._

"What?" She asks cautiously, setting herself up.

Instead of delivering the cheeky remark she'd been ready for, Wally disappears in a blur. She blinks twice. What a-

"This." He nearly knocks her over when he reappears with a dvd in hand- one that appears to be one of the early Harry Potter movies. He's beaming and she feels a lot less upset already - and _yeah_, watching a movie with her boyfriend would definitely be good for her at this point.

"Alright," She smiles, takes the movie from his hands, and wrinkles her nose, "But go take a shower first- you're all sweaty and you smell like… barbecue sauce?"

Wally doesn't even pretend to look offended. "That is _so_ cool!"

She hits him with her crutch.

"Babe, we talked about this," He gestures to his leg, and continues in a mock-serious tone, "My mom's been asking about the bruises and next time she does, I'm going to throw you under the bus and say it's a hickey. No matter where it is. And she'll never ever let you come over for din-"

She kisses him quickly, her laugh still on her lips.

**~o~**

Hermione decks the blond prick just as Artemis' cell phone starts ringing. Wally pauses the movie while she talks to her mom, who's '_just checking in_', which is actually code for '_come home, I miss you_'. Artemis promises to come right home as soon as they finish their movie and when she tucks her phone back in her boot, Wally gives her a strange look.

"What?" She follows his gaze to her black boot.

He clears his throat before wrapping his arm over her shoulder and pulling her closer, "Nothin'."

That's not nothing, she thinks as she gets comfortable against him. She sets her broken foot on the low coffee table where Wally has his own feet propped up. She's just pressed play when he takes the remote and pauses the movie again._ Definitely not 'nothin_'.

"What?" She asks again.

He lets out a heavy breath, "Okay- I'm just gonna say it. The boot is kind of depressing, so I asked Miss M if we could borrow her bedazzler tomorrow so you and I could decorate it because it's sad seeing you glare at it like you're actually considering amputating your leg."

Artemis blinks. Oh. A blush crawls up her neck and she's glad the lights are off. How did she get so lucky?

She swipes the remote from his hand and presses play, before she simply says, "Okay."

"Okay?"

"Only one rule- nothing stupid goes on the boot. It's bad enough I have to wear it when school starts." She laces her fingers with his free hand and he squeezes her shoulder.

She stares at the screen, trying (and failing) to avoid being charmed by the smug yet sweet smile he's wearing, and holds his hand a little tighter.


	6. Chapter 6

_**captalnrogers asked: Artemis/Wally prompt: One of the Valentines Days when Wally forgot. **_

**~o~**

Midterms _suck_. Especially when they're worth almost half your grade. Chewing on a pen cap, Wally glances at the clock. 2:17am. He's been at this whole '_studying_' thing for eight hours and he's pretty sure the pages of his physics notes have been branded into his brain by now. At least, he hopes so. He's only got one more day before the test, and if he gets a good enough grade on this, it means less stress during finals week.

He rubs at his eyes before he tosses his notes onto the coffee table. His arms stretch upwards and his back rewards him with a satisfying '_crack_'. While he's stretching, he takes a long look at his girlfriend, who's typing away on her laptop at the kitchen table. Her hair is up in a knot at the top of her head with plenty of pieces sticking in every direction. She's looking at the screen as though it's arguing with her (he knows _that_ look), and it probably is, considering she's writing a paper for a TA she loathes. He lies on the couch so that he can watch her work and still look like he's being productive.

The open physics book in his lap isn't nearly as entertaining as watching Artemis during a writing frenzy.

Even then, Wally finds himself yawning into his sleeve. Artemis stops typing and glances his way.

"You finally crashing?" She scoots back in her chair, pulling out her top knot and letting her hair loose. She tries to pull the kinks out, to no avail, "It's pretty late."

Wally places his book on the table next to his notes and rolls off the couch. He stands a little too quickly (_ha_!) and the world spins while his vision goes white.

He groans as he covers his eyes, "Ugh, all I see is light."

Artemis presses a few keys on her laptop and pushes it further away from her before she warns, "Don't go into the light."

He steps carefully around her Greek Myth project as he makes his way toward her, and mock-laments, "Sorry, light, old friend, can't meet up with you- My girlfriend doesn't approve."

"Damn straight." Artemis nods before lying her head in her arms on the table. Wally holds the back of her chair and tilts his head as he reads part of her paper.

"Ready?"

She sighs into her arms, "Nah. I have to finish this. You should go to bed. I woke you up pretty early yesterday."

His hands move to rub firm circles on the back of her tense neck, "I could probably study another hour."

Artemis hums, "Studying doesn't mean watching me fight with this paper while pretending to read."

"Maybe not according to _your_ dictionary," Wally shrugs, "It's pretty clear in _my_ latest edition."

Artemis lifts her head and places a hand on top of one of his, "Go to bed, Mr. Merriam-Webster, I'll be there as soon as I'm done."

He's about to protest, but he's interrupted by another yawn. Artemis sends him a knowing, only slightly pleading look, and he relents, dropping a kiss on her cheek before she can shoo him away.

"G'night, Babe. Love you."

Artemis smiles at him before she turns back to her laptop, "I love you too. Happy Valentine's Day, Wally."

He makes it six steps down the hall before he stops walking and swallows hard.

_Oh. Shit._


	7. Chapter 7

_**Anon asked: end up getting married in Vegas although we're total strangers AU. **_

_**~o~**_

"Zee," Artemis empties another packet of sugar into her cup, "I left a naked man in my bed."

"Nothing you haven't done before."

"His name is Wally West," Artemis takes a sip of her steaming coffee before she looks Zatanna in the eye, "Do you want to know how I discovered his name?"

Zatanna nods.

"An email- from the county, congratulating us on our marriage."

Zatanna is quiet for a long time. Artemis takes another gulp of coffee and watches people go about their lives outside the cramped Starbucks, wondering when her life had become a bad romantic comedy. Probably around the same time she agreed to go to Vegas with Zatanna for her father's last performance.

"Are you alright?"

Artemis nods, "I'm just… overwhelmed."

"Okay, just wanted to be sure before I ask," Zatanna reaches over the table, places a hand over hers, and asks, "Is he hot?"

"_Zatanna_."

"I'm just _asking_-" Zatanna pulls her hand back, "Wally is the kind of name you only hear in old after-school specials. I can't help you if I'm picturing an adolescent with catchphrases, overalls, and a baseball cap- help me help you-"

Artemis feels her face burning as she adjusts her sunglasses, "_Yes_\- he's attractive. But that's _irrelevant_. I don't _know_ him!"

"Oh, I'm pretty sure you _know_ him, in the Biblical sense of the word." Zatanna waves a finger at Artemis' scarf-covered neck. Artemis glares at her friend and pointedly adjusts the scarf so her purpling hickeys are better hidden. The two women sit in silence as the reality of Artemis' situation hits them both._ I got married. In Vegas. To a stranger._

"What the _hell_ happened last night?" They ask each other in unison.

Zatanna picks up her paper cup and stands, "Let's find out. Back to the naked man we go."

"Hopefully he's still sleeping," Artemis grabs her coffee and they make their way out of the crowded coffee house, "I turned the shower on before I left so he'd think I was in there."

"Lying to your husband already? Bad way to start things out, Artemis." Zatanna opens their hotel's doors with a laugh, and Artemis trails behind her with a sour look on her face.

"Don't say the H-word." Artemis snaps, and immediately feels guilty. There has to be a silver lining somewhere in this mess. She walks faster and passes Zatanna just as they reach the elevators. She catches one that's just arrived and the two of them are the only ones in it when the doors close again. Artemis presses '_23_' and they shoot upwards. She crosses her arms. Uncrosses them. Looks up at the ceiling, searching for a camera. She crosses her arms again.

"_Calm down_, Artemis," Zatanna gives her shoulder a comforting squeeze, "If Britney Spears can get her marriage annulled within a few days, so can you."

Artemis pulls at the tips of her hair and groans, "Now I'm_ Britney Spears-_"

"That's not what I said."

The elevator dings as the doors open and Artemis digs through her purse for her room key as they walk down the long hallway. Zatanna had pulled a few strings and gotten her a complimentary suite, which is amazing, but right now, Artemis is most happy about how far it is from the elevator because _she's so __**not**__ ready to do this._

When they finally reach her door, Zatanna has to nudge her twice before she slips the key card into the reader and opens the door.

Maybe she should've knocked.

"Holy-" The sleeping, naked man is sleeping no more, and instead, is standing next to the bathroom door with nothing but a sheet on. "You're not in there?"

"P-Put your clothes on!" Artemis splutters as Zatanna closes the door behind her.

Wally hides his shock with a sneer, "I _would_, but I'm pretty sure they're in here-" he opens the bathroom door and a wall of steam hits all three of them, "And I thought you were too."

"Look- just-" Artemis waves her hand at the bathroom and he takes it as an invitation to rush in and shut the door behind him. Zatanna leads her deeper into the room and they take a seat on an off-white sofa. She places her warm coffee on a glass table and sighs. From the bathroom, a muffled '_what the fuck_' sounds and Artemis can't agree more.

What the fuck had she been thinking last night?

She holds her head in her hands as they wait for Wally to get dressed- so they can talk about this like adults- or freak out together. Zatanna rubs her back dutifully- until her cell phone rings and she rushes to pick it out of her purse.

"Hey- I-" Zatanna stops suddenly and listens to whoever called, "Oh. No, I understand. My friend is in a bit of trouble too…. Haha, of course… I'll be waiting… Don't go too far, Circus Boy."

She tosses her phone back into her purse and Artemis gives her a curious stare.

"Old friend. We met up last night and we made plans for lunch today, but he doesn't think he'll make it. I was just about to cancel on him, but he beat me to it." Zatanna laughs lightly, and Artemis doesn't think it quite reaches her eyes. She won't ask, though. Her problems are a little more concerning at the moment.

"Thanks for being here." She tries to smile.

Zatanna sighs, "Like I'd want to be anywhere else. This is better than t.v."

"I'm so lucky to have you." Artemis deadpans before she rolls her eyes. The door to the bathroom opens and she looks up. Wally comes out (_clothed_) with a hand rubbing the back of his neck.

"Your name _is_ Artemis, right?" He asks in a quiet, almost scared sounding voice, as he takes a seat across form the two women.

She nods.

"Oh thank god." He breathes a sigh of relief, "This would've been way worse if it wasn't."

"What?"

He extends his right arm towards her, and it's then that she notices the bold marking etched across his bicep. _Oh shit._ Thick, black script spells out her name across his skin, with an arrowhead at the end. It's still very red around the edges but- _fuck_. Her name is fucking tattooed on a stranger's arm-_ fuckity-fuck-fuck-_

"Why is she looking at me like that?" He asks Zatanna.

Zatanna shrugs as she nudges Artemis, "Fear of commitment?"

"I-" Artemis gathers her scattered thoughts, "We can fix this. We need to fix this."

Wally runs a hand through his hair, "Don't worry, Wifey. I'm handling it. I phoned a friend."

"This isn't '_Who Wants to be a Millionaire_'," she rolls her eyes, "How are you so calm about this? And do _not_ call me Wifey."

"Honestly?" he leans forward, "I'm saving all the freaking out for when my friend gets here. Right now, I have to be rational- underwhelmed- cool and collected."

Just as he leans back, his phone on the table starts buzzing repeatedly, with tens of messages coming in, one after the other.

"I thought I didn't get signal here- What the heck-" Wally picks up his phone and puts it on silent. Artemis watches him unlock his phone and his face turns from extremely confused to extremely horrified.

"What?" She asks, not entirely sure she wants to hear the answer.

"I.. am an _idiot_. A _dead_ _idiot_-" he stares at his phone like it's about to attack him, "I posted a status on Facebook last night, and Tweeted, and Snapchatted, and oh my god- _my mom is going to murder me_."

Artemis sends a pleading glance toward Zatanna, but all she gets from her friend is a mouthed '_after-school special'_.

"I hope your friend is a miracle worker." Artemis puts her head back into her hands.

There's a knock on the door but neither of the newlyweds moves from their horrified positions.

Zatanna stands, eager to get away from all the stress, "I'll go get it."

Artemis peeks at her husband through her fingers. He looks _so distressed._

"Hey, Wally," she reaches over the table to pull the phone out of his hand. She turns it off before she stands and says, "If it makes you feel any better, the only thing I really remember about last night… was the sex."

Wally loses his mopey look and, after a moment, he chuckles, "Me too."

When Dick and Zatanna enter the room arm-in-arm, they find the newlyweds laughing hysterically at each other, re-telling bits and pieces of the things they_ kind of, sort of_ remember about their night.


	8. Chapter 8

_**Anon asked: if you ever take spitfire prompts again the bar fight au would be excellent...**_

**~o~**

The buzz of the florescent lights above her do nothing to soothe her growing headache. She chews at the inside of her lip as her stomach growls, and the vending machine in the waiting room looks a lot more appetizing as the wait to get her hand stitched gets longer. The shitty first aid at the bar was keeping her from bleeding too badly, but Shayera had insisted on taking a taxi to the ER (before she ditched her there and went back to the bar for more violence). She hadn't actually cut her hand during the fight. In retrospect, crushing the glass in her hand before she took a swing at the creep with the shifty hands _wasn't_ her best move.

_Whatever_.

She blows a stray piece of hair out of her face and looks around at the other patients trapped in the gridlocked emergency room. _Broken toe, sprained knee, dislocated shoulder, paperwork, cough_\- The automatic doors slide open and she smirks when two men come stumbling in, one looking extremely annoyed and the other looking worse for wear. That one has a dark bruise forming on his cheek and a split lip. She glances at his hands as they walk by, one clenched around the cuff of his blood-dusted lifeguard sweater, and she spots the bruised knuckles he's trying to hide. His friend stops him, points to the vacant chair across from her, and crosses his arms. Artemis appreciates the slightly-peeved gesture. _Mmm, that boy… _

Lifeguard-Boy sits and grumbles to himself as his friend approaches the sign-in desk. Artemis smiles at him as he walks away, and she hopes her hair isn't too mussed up from when she dodged that heel thrown at her in the bar. Her stomach growls again and her smile drops. _Okay, okay, I'll feed you if we ever get out of here_. She glances at her still-bleeding hand and the identification tag stuck on her wrist, debating the consequences of just leaving and dealing with it at home. She dismisses her hopes of escape with a sigh, knowing Shayera would find out and literally kick her ass at the gym on Tuesday.

"Rough night at the club, Beautiful?" Lifeguard speaks up.

Artemis immediately glares at him and his dumb raised eyebrow, "Rough night at the beach, Baywatch?"

"_Yeesh_," his flirtatious face falls into a fast frown, "Just asking."

"It's none of your business." She pulls her injured hand closer and looks at the clock on the wall, not checking the time, but giving him the cold shoulder. She's dealt with enough flirts tonight. She just wants to get her hand fixed, go home, get out of these devil heels, and eat all the leftover ravioli in the fridge. She taps her foot against the linoleum tile and avoids looking at Lifeguard. It's hard to do, what with his bright red hair and equally bright sweater. There's sand on his swimming trunks and in his hair and on his flip flops. But she's not looking. The few times she does accidentally peek at him, she notices a thin line of blood trailing from his forehead. She chews at the inside of her lip, her stomach growls again, and the noise of the buzzing lights gets stuck in her head until she speaks up, "You're bleeding."

He looks up from examining his dark, swollen fingers.

Artemis points to her forehead with her good hand and repeats, "You're bleeding."

He brings the already bloodied sleeve to his head and winces when he touches the small cut. He turns to find his friend, but the man in the black t-shirt is still in line, waiting to get the sign-in paperwork.

"Oh well." He says with a flippant shrug.

Artemis snorts and mutters under her breath, "_Oh well._"

"What?" He asks, hints of annoyance in his eyes. Artemis smirks. _Oh, what the hell. Might as well have a little fun while I'm stuck here._

"Nothing." She pretends to poke at the bandage on her hand.

"Tell me."

She leans forward, "You find out you have a head wound, and say '_Oh well_.'"

Lifeguard grimaces before his eyes light up, and he smoothly says, "You should see the other guy."

He's been waiting all his life to say that line; she can see it in his stupid sly face.

Artemis rolls her eyes. "If you're the one in the emergency room, he probably won."

He huffs and gestures at her hand, "Then you're obviously at the losing end of whatever bar fight you got into."

She shakes her head and gets distracted by the flashing lights outside. "Nope. I don't lose bar fights."

Lifeguard sits up just as the automatic doors slide open. "Then where's your '_other guy'_?"

Artemis points behind him, at the man being swept into the hospital on a stretcher. _Well, look who it is._ She would have needed six more shots to forget that icy blue hair piece attached to that creep. _I definitely didn't do enough to send him here though… Shay… _

Lifeguard's mouth drops open.

"You _didn't_?"

She nods seriously, despite her intense desire to laugh at his expression.

He shakes his head in disbelief, but before he can say another word, Black Shirt Guy returns with the mountain of paperwork required for first-time visitors. She's glad she's sort of a regular here. Deborah usually gives her a lollipop, but the old receptionist doesn't work weekends.

Black Shirt and Lifeguard fill out the paperwork together, seeing as Lifeguard's hand is a little beat up. He doesn't look like much of a physical fighter. He's got more of a runner's build. She absentmindedly wonders what set him off. She pulls an old receipt and a pen out of her clutch. She finishes writing her number with a small flourish and stares at the paper approvingly. She'll just have to find out later.

"_Artemis Crock._" Nancy, one of her least favorite ER nurses, calls her name from the beige door. Artemis grabs her clutch and stands, catching Lifeguard's attention.

"Need someone to hold your hand?" He raises a dumb eyebrow again, but this time, she smiles and places her crumpled up receipt in his good hand.

"I can handle it," she starts walking before she twists around and adds, "But if you can't, you know who to call."

"…_Ghostbusters_?"

She doesn't let herself laugh until she's safely beyond the waiting room.


	9. Chapter 9

**_vigilanteshadowhuntress asked: You should write a fic where Artemis runs into her ex in a public place and he's with his fiancée. In order to make it look like she moved on she pretends she's dating Wally and they kinda end up sticking with it to keep up the ruse-just a suggestion_**

**_~o~_**

Watching Lian for her sister is always an opportunity to get fresh air and exercise. The two year old fusses at the library, in her apartment's gross laundry room, in her sleep, during Sesame Street, and is especially wiggly after dinner. The only time the baby stays still and quiet is when Artemis takes her for a jog in the park a few blocks from her apartment. The jogging stroller Jade brings every time she drops by (unexpectedly as always) is bulky and it's a chore getting it up and down the staircase with Lian on one hip but Artemis knows her niece really enjoys being pushed around the park and the weather is still nice so she doesn't complain.

Not that she would, really. Jade dropping Lian off at her apartment at random has become something of a welcome distraction for her, after her drawn out breakup with Cameron a year ago left her more than a little pissed at the universe. Lian is a ball of sunshine when she wants to be and Artemis could use a little more of that in her life.

Artemis leans over the stroller and makes a face at her giggling niece as she stops to catch her breath. The guy who's been lapping them ever since they arrived laps them again. The walking path around the park isn't very wide and he has to step in the grass to avoid the stroller wheels. Lian reaches for Artemis' drooping ponytail and tugs, hard. She giggles when Artemis yelps. After untangling the baby's hand from her long locks, she redoes her ponytail and survey's the park. _  
_

_No. Fucking. Way. _

Her eyes must be playing tricks on her, because there's no way in hell Cameron Mahkent is hand in hand with Crystal Frost walking _straight towards her_. Artemis curses repeatedly, in her mind of course. Lian hears enough accidental cursing at home. This is going to be _so_ uncomfortable.

_Okay, Artemis, be cool. _She straightens her posture and holds the handles of the stroller tightly._Maybe he won't notice you. _

"No way! _Artemis_? Is that you?" Cameron waves.

_Of course he would_. She takes a breath and looks behind her. Track-star is coming up on them again. She waves at Cameron and Crystal before she turns and sends Track-star a pleading glance. He doesn't notice. He does take notice of her when she throws her arm out and clotheslines him. He chokes a bit. She rolls her eyes. _Pay more attention to where you're going, doofus. _

She pats his arm, "Stop for a sec, babe."

He pulls his earbuds out and she laughs loudly, as though remembering an old joke they shared, before he can open his mouth to ask why she stopped him.

"You were going to lap us _again_?" She shakes her head and quickly pulls his face close to hers. She _knows_ the others are watching.

"That's my ex. Be my boyfriend," she whispers as her lips brush against his cheek. She feels him hesitate for a moment before he nods. When she pulls back, he has a broad smile on his face.

"_Well_," he drawls, "_Girlfriend_, you should know I'm no cheap date."

Cameron and Crystal are almost upon them when she rolls her eyes.

"I'll owe you one, now please, _play it up." _She whispers through her teeth as the other couple greets them.

"Artemis, wow," Cameron laughs, "How funny, running into you like this."

"Yeah, pretty random," Artemis laughs uneasily, and she nods at Crystal, "Nice to see you again, Crys."

Crystal smirks, "Always a pleasure, Arty."

_Ew._ Artemis loses the polite smile.

Cameron breaks the tense silence, "Aren't you going to introduce your friend?"

_Oh shit, I don't know his name. _Artemis loops her arm in Track-star's and pulls him forward.

"Cameron, Crystal, this is my boyfriend-"

Track-star quickly extends his hand to Cameron, "Wally West. Nice to meet you."

They shake hands and for a second, the only thing Artemis can think is '_His name's really Wally?'. _Luckily, Lian saves her by deciding that they've been stationary for too long, and she starts fussing in the stroller.

"We should get going," Wally mentions as he glances at her niece, "She doesn't look too happy."

Artemis could kiss him. Instead she fakes an apologetic sigh, "_Kids_. What are you gonna do- Sorry we can't stay and chat."

"Uh," Cameron stares at the stroller strangely as he says goodbye, "Okay, um, maybe we'll see you guys around."

"Maybe." Artemis nods and smiles as the other couple continues their walk. _Hopefully not. _

She lets out a sigh and gives Wally a grateful glance, "Thanks for the help."

"No problem," he shrugs, "It's not everyday I get to save a pretty damsel-in-distress."

Artemis snorts, "I'm no damsel."

"Sure looked like one a minute ago."

She smirks as she takes the brake off the stroller and quips, "I used you as a shield, doesn't that make me a knight?"

He's silent for a moment and when she starts walking, he follows (just like she knew he would).

"Go on a run with me tomorrow."

"What?" She raises a brow at him as they pick up their pace. Lian giggles when they go over some bumps.

"You totally owe me one." Wally grins as he jogs next to her. "That's my '_one_'."

She debates his proposition as they round the edge of the park. He's got that wholesome midwestern charm thing going for him and she's _always_ been a sucker for green eyes. She'll give him a chance. He's earned it.

"Alright." She agrees, "I'll be here at six. Now go away, '_boyfriend'_."

"Great," Wally laughs as he speeds up, but he makes sure she can hear him when he says, "Promise I won't lap you… _much_."


	10. Chapter 10

_**asblueasthetardis asked: Wally accidentally punching Artemis in the face because he gesticulates too wildly.**_

_**Post-Revelation, then skips to post-Insecurity.**_

_**~O~**_

"Look, all I'm saying is-," Wally jumps down from his soapbox (the coffee table), "We need a team picture."

"Wally," M'gann pulls up from her stretch and tilts her head, "We have a lot of pictures of the team. I'm making a scrapbook."

"I mean a formal team picture, you know? Not a bunch of cell phone pictures."

Conner looks up from petting Wolf and raises a brow as he asks, "You want us to take _professional_ pictures?"

"We just need _one_ picture." Wally holds up one finger, exasperated.

"When should we take this picture?" Kaldur glances at the clock on the wall.

"_Soon_."

Robin looks at his watch and shakes his head, "Not today. Black Canary's going to be here in six minutes."

"Do we have to take a picture?"

"It's _necessary_."

Robin points at his friend's arm, "You want your cast in the picture?"

"Okay," Artemis swings around in her swivel chair, rubs at her aching temple, and snaps, "Everyone stop saying 'picture'. It's starting to sound like it's not a real word. We'll take it Sunday night."

"_Actually_," Wally uses his good hand to rub his neck, "I kind of don't want the cast in the pictu-"

"Don't say it." Artemis cuts him off, warning laced in her words. The entire room holds its breath. M'gann and Conner look at each other while Kaldur watches Artemis' hands curl into fists. Robin sees the smirk before he can stop it.

"Pict-"

"Stop."Artemis clips.

"P-"

Her eyes flash dangerously, "No."

Wally takes a dramatic breath, "Let'swaitafewweekstotakethe**picture**'causethisisgoingtoimmortalizeourteamforeverandgenerationsfromnowpeoplewilllookatthat**picture**andaspiretoreachourlevelsofawesomeandnooneisgoingtothinkawesomewhentheyseea**pictu**-"

He's lucky he's already using his super speed, because there's no way he could dodge the pencil she sends flying at his head otherwise.

Stupid archer aim.

-o-

-_December 14th_-

She doesn't want to be here. She doesn't want to take a team picture if she's 'Second-String Archery Girl: selfish, insecure, suspected mole'. She doesn't want that immortalized at all. Red Arrow's off the grid- probably trying to prove she's the mole- so it's just the seven of them, lined up in front of the command center, waiting for Red Tornado to set up the camera.

Kid Grudge insisted on using an ancient camera because he thought it would be 'more authentic'. She knows he just wants it to look like the one the League took when they first got together. That's why he wanted the thing in the first place. Artemis wipes a nonexistent piece of lint off of her arm guard as Robin steps out of line to help Tornado. She's kind of hoping they get called out for a mission before they figure it out. The kind where she gets to let out her pent up frustration.

Honestly, Kaldur standing between them is the only thing keeping her from strangling Kid Complainer.

"C'mon, guys," He gestures at the tripod, "We still have time to rethink placement. We could have four in the back, three in front- give off the illusion we actually get along."

_The only person you don't get along with is me._ Artemis scowls before her expression saddens. She huffs before looking at the rocky ceiling.

"It took us fifteen minutes to get situated in an order you approved of the first time." Conner points out with a sigh.

"Trust me-" Wally steps out of line, "This'll look way cooler. Okay, everyone spread out."

Artemis folds her arms over her chest as she shuffles to the left. Kaldur gets stopped when Wally drags him to the center.

"Tallest in the middle." His voice speeds up as he rushes to pull Zatanna into place, "Zatanna,you'reshort,getinfront."

He tries to place everyone in a nice cluster, but then he realizes he forgot to place himself in the bunch and asks them to reassemble. Again.

By the time the camera is ready, they've been moved three more times and have ended up in their original positions. She doesn't want to be here.

"Can we just get this over with?" Artemis asks with a groan, and Conner, on the other end of the line, nods his head. Wolf is getting stir-crazy. It's time for his walk.

Red Tornado holds up a hand to silence them, and says, "I will take the photograph in ten seconds."

Artemis straightens her posture and turns her shoulder so her ponytail doesn't cover her arrows. She tries to smile, but she's not feeling it. With her father breathing down her neck to switch sides, maybe taking a picture with the good guys isn't such a good idea. _Stop_, she scolds herself, _You're not him. You're not Jade. He's wrong._

She smiles wider. _You belong here. _

"Artemis." Red Tornado turns to her, and she bites her lip when the others break their poses and look at her too, "Is something wrong?"

"_What_? No- why?" She blinks.

"Your expression was… unusual."

She hears Wally muttering to Kaldur, "That's just her face."

She so doesn't want to be here. She swallows down a scathing retort and apologizes, "Uh- I was thinking about something. I'm focused now. Let's do this."

"Okay, ten seconds."

_Ten._

_Nine. _

_Ei-_

"Wait!"

The group collectively groans when Wally puts his hand up and jumps out of line.

"Everyone stay put, I'll be right back." He disappears from sight and, judging by the air current he creates, he's heading straight to the souvenir room.

_If he brings that tracer, I'm killing him_. Artemis decides, as she steps out of line to make a face at Zatanna. The magician just shakes her head.

"Okay," He skids to a stop in front of them, arms full, "I got one for everybody."

He starts at the opposite end of the line, handing M'gann a robotic eye, Conner a gorilla's beret, Zatanna a robot hand, Robin a Kobra hood, and Kaldur - Cheshire's mask. When he stops in front of her with a medical backpack strapped to his back, he pauses. She taps her foot until he begrudgingly hands her the arrow that she used to stop the Reds, wrapped in a piece of Count Vertigo's cloak that he ripped off during their fight against the Injustice League.

She examines at the objects in her hands longer than she means to. Things had been okay then. _When did everything get so hard?_

Wally steps back into his spot but immediately backtracks, "Oh, shoot-"

"Stay." Artemis snaps and she jumps out of line to grab his suit before he can speed away. Unfortunately, he was already in running form when her fingers pulled him around. His fists are up- and blurry-

She feels the punch a few seconds after it happens. Her cheek pulses as she throws him to the ground hard and horror spreads across his face when she glowers at him. _Good. Be afraid._ The rest of the team take tiny steps away, and she's pretty sure Robin and Zatanna are '_oooo_'-ing.

_Oh, he's dead_. She tucks the arrow and cape fragment into her quiver and pulls out a nice boxing glove arrow she got from Ollie.

The picture Red takes of them at that moment is the one they put on the wall.


	11. Chapter 11

_**Anon asked: Ooh! Spitfire prompt for thunderstorm cuddles(:**_

_**~o~**_

_**AU**_

When Artemis glances out the window of her sixth story office, a far-away flash of lightning lights up the growing grey clouds. Her eyes narrow until the sound of thunder reaches her ears. She checks the clock on her desktop. _I can disappear a few minutes early. _

She shuts down her computer and packs some papers into a folder before she stuffs it into her desk. The door to her office opens without warning.

"Artemis, it's starting to- _oh_," Donna smiles at her and leans against the doorframe, "Good, you're leaving. I was just about to let you out."

"Yeah," Artemis nods and pushes her chair in, before reaching putting on her coat and following Donna out the door and through the hall to the elevator. She pushes the elevator call button and continues, "The storm is moving in a bit faster than I thought it would."

Donna worriedly asks, "Is he home?"

"Should be." Artemis taps her foot and fiddles with the clasp of her bag. _I hope he didn't stop to get dog food. _

Donna lets out a breath, "Good."

The elevator dings and Artemis tells her friend to drive safely before the doors can close and she travels down to the parking level. She digs her keys out of her bag, along with her phone. With one hand she unlocks the screen and with the other she presses the lock button on her keys twice so that she can find her car in the mess of a parking lot. She can hear the sound of light rain echoing near the exit. She walks towards her car and opens the seven unread text messages on her phone.

_Megs_

_1:03pm- Brunch Sunday? My flight gets in pretty early. :)_

She'll reply to that later. She opens the other six with a few flicks of her finger.

_Wallman *heart eyes emoji*_

_4:07pm- I made us a fort in the living room._

_4:10pm- We have to sleep in it because Brucely claimed our bed _

_4:17pm- he's being an asshole when I try to move him. _

_4:18pm- Also, dog food supplies can last another few days. Didn't stop._

_4:37pm- I think he knows and that's why he won't be nice to me._

She unlocks her car door and gets inside just as a little window pops up on her phone.

_Wallman *heart eyes emoji*_

_4:54pm- I warmed up that chili Oliver sent over but it's not as good without you here to make fun of my spicy-food-tears_

She starts the car before she quickly replies, _Just got out. On my way. I'll be there asap. _

She tosses her phone into the cup holder and makes her way out of the underground parking lot. The city traffic hasn't picked up yet- but it will, and with the sudden storm approaching, more people will be rushing home. Her fingers tap against the steering wheel as she drives through the light drizzle with little on her mind but the glimpse of lightning she saw from her window. She has to get home. The universe seems to agree. She catches every green light until she reaches their new, little house on Carnelian Street. It only takes her forty minutes.

She can tell the lights are on in the living room even though the curtains are closed, just like she knew they'd be. They always are on days like this.

As soon as her car locks, she sprints to the front door and gets inside before she can get soaked by the heavy downpour. She tosses her bag onto a table before she peeks into the living room.

He's sitting on the couch in his pajamas, with a bowl of chili in one hand and a spoon in the other, looking at the curtains like they're about to come to life and strangle him. She takes off her coat as she enters the room. There are blankets everywhere- probably every one they own- and the chairs from the dining room are arranged into a neat circle to form a makeshift fort in the middle of the room.

"Hey," she sits down on the opposite side of the couch, pulls her hair out of its bun, and kicks her shoes off, before she asks, "Where's Brucely?"

Wally swallows as he puts the bowl on the coffee table and answers, "Sleeping on my pillow, getting dog drool all over it."

"He loves you." She laughs softly, examining him. He smiles, but the dark clouds outside add a heaviness to it that she doesn't like to see.

The first storms of the season are always the worst.

"Nice fort," she comments, just before a flash of lightning stuns them both into silence. It's the roaring thunder that follows that snaps her out of her stupor. She stands up as the lights flicker, and carefully whispers, "_Wally_-"

His fingers leave imprints on the couch cushions, she notices, as she pulls him up. His hands shake and she pulls them into her own.

"Wally, you with me?"

When he doesn't nod, she braces herself for a long night.

"C'mon, babe," she soothes, grabbing a few pillows from the floor and leading him down into the fort he made. She sets up the pillows and smiles as he lays down and turns towards her. His eyes are locked on hers and she lets out a tiny sigh of relief, before she says, "I'm going to check on Brucely and change, and then I'll be right back. Is that okay?"

He nods and she gives him a reassuring peck on the cheek. She slips out of the fort and rushes through her nightly routine. She makes sure to text Donna, Might take a personal day tomorrow, before she checks in on her sleeping pet and changes into some shorts and an old shirt. She turns off the lights in the house as she moves through the halls, leaving the one in the bathroom on to give her a little light at night, just in case. Another bit of thunder rocks the house, and she makes sure the front door is locked before running back to the fort. Wally is sitting up waiting for her when she opens the entrance blanket.

"Hey," she slips in, pulling him down until he's laying beside her, "You with me?"

He turns over and smiles bravely, "'Course I am."

"Cool, cause I have to tell you what Lian did at preschool yesterday and you know I don't like repeating myself." She scoots closer to him, moves an arm over his torso, and tells her story, one that's only a little exaggerated. Her story is interrupted by thunder at random moments, but she picks up where she leaves off without pause, tracing circles on his chest as she brings up another happy story about their friends from that vacation in D.C. The sound of the pouring rain outside serves as background noise for the occasional breath she takes between tales, and when Wally begins unconsciously twisting the ends of her hair in his fingers, she starts to relax. _He's okay._

They ride out the storm in the fort all night, and when things get rough, Artemis traces kisses along the branching scars that mar his skin from the tip of his hand to the hollow of his neck, and things seem alright again.

The first storms of the season are always the worst, but they're both getting better at this.


	12. Chapter 12

_**Anonymous: Is there any chance for "we go to the same coffee shop every evening to do homework but we never speak to each other until today AU"?**_

_**~O~**_

Doing homework at home would be nice- if home wasn't a hall full of chatty, loud young ladies with an invasive Resident Assistant. She's housed in a triple for her first year, and her roommates aren't bad. It's just their neighbors. Artemis found herself searching for peace and quiet two hours after her mom left campus on move-in day.

She found it soon enough. A small coffee house a mile from the dorms in their little college town becomes her safe haven. Her roommates get used to rarely seeing her. Where she goes doesn't really matter to them, but they do care enough to text her when she doesn't get home by midnight (those are the nights she takes the long way home through the park). In the morning, she'll pack her backpack with her laptop, charger, whatever book she needs to read, and set out for the day. It works for her, going to the coffee shop after class- she gets her work done, she gets coffee and pastries, she doesn't waste time, she gets exercise walking back and forth, and her weekends get freed up for activities.

She's got the whole thing down.

And, apparently, so does the ginger from her history class.

She'd noticed him the first time she ever visited, but then, how could she have missed him when he had been surrounded by loud, laughing friends in the otherwise quiet coffee shop? One by one, his friends had left, until he was the last customer in the shop besides herself. Artemis is still pretty sure he checked her out when she packed up her books and left that night. Eventually, she recognized his shock of red hair during their late afternoon lecture. She sees him everywhere after that, even though their campus is enormous and they have no mutual friends on Facebook (and she has checked.. a few times…). He's always at the coffee shop, sweet-talking the cashier into giving him a free pastry, doing his homework, and generally causing a scene at least once a week.

October arrives and brings with it sunny days, chilly nights, and pumpkin spice flavored everything. But the best thing it brings is the hayride in the park. She loves passing by and watching a bunch of snot-nosed kids shove each other into hay piles before she unwinds at her usual table.

On a particularly windy day, she has to wrap her scarf around the bottom half of her face to keep her nose from turning bright red. In spite of the biting cold, she takes her time walking through the park, carefully crushing crunchy-looking leaves on the sidewalk as she goes. A black sleeve fills her vision and she narrowly avoids being knocked over by the muscled man rushing past her.

"Sorry," he turns to tell her as he continues walking backwards. "Kind of in a hurry."

Before she has a chance to reply, he takes off towards a motorcycle parked at the edge of the park. A loud bang startles Artemis into turning around and the sight she sees makes her wish she had her phone out. The boy from her history class, clad in a thick flannel shirt and traditional overalls with boots to match, is hopelessly slamming his hand against the steaming hood of the tractor that pulls the wagon. His straw hat is on the ground.

"Please," he groans as the hood buckles under another hit, "open. I can fix you. Just- open."

A gaggle of small children wrapped in too many layers of clothing watch him fight with the machine and are content to laugh at his misery.

Artemis slowly makes her way around the small haystacks, getting closer and closer, until she's able to stand beside the children and watch him become more and more frustrated. When he kicks at the tire of the tractor and yelps in pain, she laughs, loudly, and the kids around her follow suit, clutching their bellies and leaning on each other for support.

"Alright," he starts with a wary tone as he turns around to face them. "What's so-"

Artemis meets his gaze with a quick smirk.

"-funny?" His voice cracks. Her smirk turns into a full blown smile.

And then she walks away.

-o-

A few hours later, someone sits across from her in the corner booth she's come to call home.

When she looks up, she discovers they have hay in their hair, dirty overalls, a history book, and bright green eyes.

And a big mouth.

"Hi, I just wanted to let you know I don't usually do this but you come here like everyday and- not to be creepy or anything- I noticed you had the same book as me and I was wondering if maybe you'd want to study for the midterm together because these essay questions are really confusing and-"

"Artemis."

He blinks and finally takes a breath. "Huh?"

"My name. It's Artemis," she says again, pushing her cup and papers aside to make room for his book. "What's yours?"

"Uh," a piece of hay falls out of his hair as he holds his hand out over the table. "Wally West."

Artemis shakes his hand quickly before pulling her essay outlines from a pile of papers.

"Well, Wally," she drawls as she turns the papers so he can read them, "What do you think about colonialism?"

-o-

That night they ended up staying until the closing cashier kicked them out, but Artemis still sees the red head from her history class everywhere. They spend their free afternoons studying together in the coffee shop, and their free mornings arguing the health benefits of tiny pancakes in the dining commons together, and eventually her roommates stop asking her where she is at night because they know she's most likely with her nerdy new boyfriend and because, well, she's got the whole thing down.

They both do.


	13. Chapter 13

**Based off of a piece I did on Tumblr. You can also listen to Get Up by Barcelona as you read.**

_**~O~**_

Wally's eyes snap open when a great boom shakes the ground he's lying on. His heart races as he struggles to sit up and the bright yellow of his suit catches him off guard. He was in stealth-mode just a second ago, wasn't he? The body next to him throws him off even more.

_Artemis_! He turns to his side and starts to roll her over. She doesn't respond.

"Get up," he rasps, waiting for her to move, twitch, to do something besides be so damn still. "Artemis."

He looks up desperately. The red sky is filling with black smoke, which is never a good sign. He has no idea where they are, or how they got here, but he knows they need to move.

"You gotta wake up, Babe."

-o-

_Every relationship has highs and lows, dude. You guys'll be back together in no time._

Somehow, Dick's words of comfort do anything but make him feel better. Relationships have highs and lows, but on a scale relative to his relationship with Artemis, the point they're at now is below low. They're Death Valley low, Dead Sea low, the bottom of the Marianas Trench low. That low. And it _sucks_.

It's only been five days since she kicked him to the curb.

He's been distracted. He often finds himself looking at his phone every ten minutes, waiting for a '_Can we talk_?' text that, apparently, isn't coming anytime soon. The texts he sends stay unread. When his mom asks him to invite Artemis over for dinner one night, he tells her she's busy, instead of explaining that she'd rather sew her mouth shut than talk to him right now. It's easier to let his parents think everything is fine. It means less questions, less awkward answers, and less lectures. Still, the looks his parents have been giving him make it obvious that they know more than he'd like them to. Maybe they can sense it; some sort of weird parental radar that starts pinging in their brains whenever he sulks through the house.

What makes it worse is the fact the rest of the Team knows. Dick and Conner try their best to make him feel a little better, but it's hard to laugh at jokes when all he wants to do is retell them to Artemis. Kaldur has been pretty silent about the break(_not breakup_) and it's appreciated. M'gann keeps trying to get them alone in the same room and that is not as appreciated. Zatanna has become a stone wall keeping him from approaching her during training. Semi-appreciated.

Wally is not one to run from his problems. Uncle Barry always told him that he had to run towards his problems in order to fix them. But over the last five days, eight hours, and seven minutes, Wally has come to the realization that this isn't _his_ problem. It's _Artemis_'.

He takes a deep breath and activates stealth-mode. He pulls down his goggles and prepares for his drop from the bioship. They have a mission. He needs to focus. He hesitates at the hole that appears in the floor and stands just long enough to send her one more glance.

She's not looking at him.

_Totally her problem_, he thinks, just before he drops.

-o-

"Please, wake up," he whispers as he places her in a hiding place between some trees. The faraway fire lights up the plain they're in, but he still has no clue where they are anymore. He's tried his comm, but all he gets in return is static. Something or someone is blocking his transmission. His glove is empty, which is weird because he distinctly remembers putting a granola bar in there before they left and there's no way they've been out that long. His stomach begs to differ. He's surprised the growls haven't woken up Artemis yet.

"Artemis, c'mon," Wally shakes her shoulder softly, careful not to jostle her head. The bruises on her face definitely weren't there the last time he saw her. _What the hell happened to her?_ She doesn't move, save for the rise and fall of her chest when she breathes. Wally leaves his hand on her shoulder as he takes a quick look around. Her bow and quiver are nowhere in sight. He narrows his eyes when her collapsable crossbow is also gone from it's usual home on her leg. Artemis doesn't go anywhere without her weapons, especially on missions.

Someone had to take them from her, by force. _A lot of force_. He rechecks and makes sure her bruises aren't being bothered by her mask. He's willing to bet the same someone who hurt her left them in the middle of this dried out plain with no way to call their friends.

His stomach growls again. Wally purses his lips and thinks. Moving at superspeed in this state is dangerous, but a possible plan B. He really needs some food. A Big Belly Burger or five would be perfect, but beggars can't be choosers. He takes a look at Artemis. She really needs actual medical help. He tries his comm again, but the same rough static fills his ears. The sky is getting darker fast. _Fuck_.

He returns to stealth-mode and stands between the trees, trying to get a better look at the fire in the distance. He pulls down his goggles and attempts to zoom in, but they're not working. _This is so uncool_. He puts them back on his head and sighs. Fire means people, right? If he could get to the fire, then he could find people, or a way to contact the others. He could also find the people who hurt Artemis, but he's not exactly in fighting condition. He takes a seat by his girlfri-… yeah, she's still his girlfriend, right? Breaks aren't breakups- her words. _Not the time_, he thinks, sighing out loud.

Artemis releases the smallest of groans and it is music to his ears.

"Artemis?" he asks, not entirely sure if he's imagining things. Her right hand curls into a weak fist. "Hey, it's me. You're with me."

She whimpers. Wally laces his fingers in between hers and continues, "I'm right here. You're okay. I'm gonna get us out of here."

She tries to speak again but all that comes out is a soft, unintelligible wheeze.

"Yeah, me too," Wally laughs nervously, eyes searching for some sign of their rescue team. He plays with the ends of her ponytail with his free hand. It's a distraction for the both of them. There's a puncture hole in her top near her neckline that he's just noticed and it's stressing him out. They need to get to help. Her grogginess could be from being drugged, or poisoned. _Please don't be poison_, he thinks as he looks further upwards. The sky is clouded over with smoke from the fire that still rages on the horizon. Wally closes his eyes tightly. There has to be a way to fix this and his mind goes through a dozen plans a minute but he can't leave Artemis alone to go to the fire. He won't. Her grip around his fingers tightens. "So, here's the sitch: you're stuck with me. I have no clue where we are and I'm running on empty, but we're together, so that's something, right?"

She squeezes his hand.

He almost smiles. "And you're waking up. That's good too… And I'm sure Miss M is looking for us, so remember to keep an open mind. Won't be long before we're back in the bioship."

She nods and he stops talking because his mouth wants to spill apologies for things he can't control and he wants to comfort her about everything that has happened and that is happening but now definitely isn't the time or place for that conversation. His stomach speaks for him, and this time, she hears it.

"Left p-," she rasps and winces, "-ouch."

Wally blinks. _She didn't_\- He stops playing with her ponytail to open the left pouch on her belt. Their salvation reveals itself to him.

"I knew you still loved me," he says with more emotion than he meant to show. He pulls one of Uncle Barry's special power bars from the pouch. If half of one of these can give him enough energy to almost keep up with The Flash for a whole five minutes, the whole thing will definitely help them get out of this mess. "You just saved the day."

Artemis untangles her fingers from his hand slowly.

"Prove it, Flash Boy."

-o-

Waiting is hard to do when you can move faster than the speed of sound. He would do more pacing but wearing a tread into the floor isn't going to help anyone. Instead, he busies himself with one of M'gann's knitting books and it's actually really easy once you get the technique down. _Does Artemis even like scarves?_ he thinks to himself, examining the too-long scarf in his hands. I_f she doesn't like it, I'll feel like a kid bringing home an art project that doesn't get put on the fridge. I should just hide this. Burn it. Give it to Wolf… What am I doing?_ Wally puts the scarf down and looks over at the only other occupant of the room.

"Did you make that?"

Wally grins and scoots his chair closer to the bed. "Yeah. Like it?"

Artemis shakes off her drowsiness with ease, raises a brow, and remarks, "I am a little cold."

She takes the fabric from his hands and wraps it around her own. She pretends to examine it carefully, and he pretends he doesn't notice her pretending. There are a lot of words that need to be said between them, but they both want to stretch time for this little, peaceful moment. When she finally looks at him again, he's ready.

"I'm sorry," they say at the same time.

Artemis shakes her head and reaches to pull his hands into the scarf-turned-hand-warmer. "I wasn't being fair to you before. I am incredibly happy with you. I _love_ you. You're so _good_. And- well, good things don't last forever where I'm from, so I got scared. I took it out on you and ended up saying all the wrong things trying to avoid the truth when I should have just told you how I really felt. I hurt you and I'm so sorry, Wally."

"It's okay," he smiles. "I kind of figured that out. I mean, it took me a few days but I got it. You don't have to worry about that stuff, Artemis. Not with me. You just have to _talk_ to me."

"I know," she says, looking down at their hands in the scarf.

"I love you," he leans closer to her. "Are we un-break-ified now?"

She looks up, brushes her nose against his, and whispers, "I think so."

Wally smirks as he begins to close the gap.

"Prove it."


	14. Chapter 14

_**sherlockedbelle asked: one of them is evil and the other tries to convince them to join the "good side?**_

_**~O~**_

"Listen to me," Artemis calls, falling to her knees. The vortex spinning around her pulls the air away from her. "Please, I can help you!"

"I've seen the good in you. I know you feel like you _have_ to do this, but you can be your own person. No matter who your parents are," she speaks quickly, desperate to get through to the teen threatening to asphyxiate her. "You and me, we're more alike than you think!"

Through the winds, she hears a bark of disbelieving laughter. _At least that means he's listening. _

Her hands reach for her throat as she continues, "You laugh, but I get it! My dad is Sportsmaster! My sister is Cheshire! I understand what it's like…Being born into this wasn't your choice, but you have one now."

_Artemis! _M'gann calls through the psychic link, having finally gotten in range.

_Stay back and don't interfere, _Artemis responds, collapsing to the ground. _I have it handled. Go find Robin._

She flips onto her back and stares up at the night sky, only just visible in the center of the vortex. Her breaths are more like gasps now. He hasn't slowed down at all. Artemis wheezes, "Please, Kid. You've got to listen to me…"

Her vision flickers. The stars disappear.

"I can help you."

Her arms fall to her sides. She feels a rush of wind, and then nothing at all.

-o-

She wakes with a ragged gasp. Her body throws itself into a sitting position as she tries to calm her racing heartbeat. The thin blanket that covers her legs is unfamiliar and itchy and it only takes one more moment for her to realize she's a long way from Mount Justice. Her eyes scan the small, barren room. One window, one door, one supervillian sidekick staring at her. The last one startles her the most. The black suit with the red lightning bolt nearly blends into the dark corner he stands in. Artemis swings her legs off the side of the bed and stares back at him.

Kid Flash has always been a bit of a mystery to the team He's their age. He'll cause havoc for a day and then disappear. He never hurts them until he has to get away, and even then he'll just knock them out before they have time to react to a direct attack. Artemis has done her research. This Kid is tied up in family drama.

His hands move, slowly, up to his mask. He pulls back his cowl, revealing bright green eyes and a row of freckles across his nose.

"Thought it'd be fair," he says simply, taking a seat on the floor across from her. He pulls his knees to his chest and rests his chin atop them, still looking at her.

It's then that she realizes her mask is missing.

"You _unmasked_ me?" Artemis asks, crossing her arms over her chest. She feels naked. _Where the heck are my bow and quiver?_

"Do they know?" He asks, ignoring her scandalized question.

"They who? Know what?"

"Your friends," he supplies. "Do they know about Sportsmaster? And Cheshire?"

Artemis glares at the boy on the floor. "You just _kidnapped_ me and you expect me to play 20 questions with you?"

"Look," he sighs, "we don't have a lot of time. I ditched your gear about twenty miles out, along with the tracers. Your friends will come for you. I'm not keeping you here, either. You can go now if you want."

She doesn't move. "Why'd you bring me here?"

"To play 20 questions," he says bitterly, looking at the floorboards.

Artemis purses her lips. While his method left much to be desired, he was obviously trying to hear her out. She sinks down along the side of the bed, until she's sitting on the floor, mirroring his position.

"They don't know," she admits quietly, after a long silence. "I haven't told anyone."

"Except me."

"Except you," she confirms. "My turn. Why'd you really bring me here?"

He traces a pattern on his shin, avoiding her eyes, and replies, "You said you could help me."

"I can," she says quickly. Too quickly. He looks up at her strangely. "Depending on what it is you want help with."

"_Why_ do you want to help me?"

Artemis adjusts her position against the bed as she blandly answers, "Well… Us kids-of-supervillains need to stick together, right?"

"Flash isn't my dad," he laughs shortly. "Now, tell the truth."

"Alright," she huffs. "Gotham, three months ago. I _saw_ you save those people after Flash knocked over that billboard. You're not all bad."

"You're from Gotham?" Kid Flash asks, surprised.

"Slow down, speedy," Artemis tuts. "It's _my_ turn. Where are we?"

"Keystone National Park."

_Okay, that's not too far. _"Your turn."

"You're from Gotham?"

Artemis rolls her eyes in the darkness. "_Yes_. Where are you from?"

"Keystone… What's your name?"

She hesitates, watching his eyes. He stares at her expectantly. She relents, "Artemis."

"No, your real name."

"My name _is_ Artemis."

"Your name is-," he pauses, then half-smiles. "Well, that's dumb."

"What about you?"

"Wally."

She guffaws, "And you're making fun of _my_ name?"

Wally (there's no way he's lying about that name) shrugs. "Hey, you _chose_your alias. I didn't choose my name. Now, Artemis, or should I say _Artemis_, what's your plan?"

"My plan?"

"Yeah, your plan," he says, gesturing to himself. "The one to make me a 'good guy'."

"There is no 'plan'. It's up to you," she says simply. "You get to choose."

"Let's say I do choose. What happens when Flash finds out?" He grumbles, lying flat on the floor. "What'd your dad do when he found out about your team?"

"You're skipping my turn."

"Just answer me," he sighs, adding a half-hearted, "please."

"He thinks I'm a joke," she answers honestly, before moving to lie beside him on the floor. "Says I'll come back to the Life when I realize '_who I really am._' What do you think of that?"

He takes a moment to answer, examining her expression there on the ground. "I think you already know who you are."

She turns her head and gives him a small smile before saying, "Thanks."

They both look back up at the bare ceiling. Artemis never thought she'd be in this position, but she isn't complaining. Unravelling the mystery that is Kid Flash has revealed a kid who just wants to do the right thing. He just wants an out form the Life. She found her White Rabbit. Now, she can be his.

"Do you really think I can do it?" He whispers, breaking the silence.

"Yeah," she replies without hesitation. "I think you're already doing it."

"Thanks."

"Wally?"

He faces her. "Yeah?"

"Where's my mask?"

He sits up and avoids her eyes. "It was torn up before I brought you here. It kind of fell apart on the way."

She follows him, sighing, "That's the third one this month."

_Artemis?! Can you hear me? Are you alright?! _M'gann's voice enters her mind suddenly.

Her eyes widen and Wally notices immediately.

"What? What happened?"

"My friends are coming," she hurries to stand and look out the window. She doesn't see anything or anyone. _I'm fine, Miss M. Is everyone with you? _

_Superboy and Kaldur are by the lake, with your equipment. Robin and I are heading your way now. Someone is with you?_

_Kid Flash,_ she thinks calmly. _He's here with me. Tell me when you're outside. We'll meet you._

_We?_

_I'll explain later._

"Should I start running?" Wally asks, pulling his cowl back over his face. "They're not going to be happy I kidnapped you."

She grabs his hand before he can take another step, and says, "No. Stay. I'll explain things to them. They'll understand."

"I'm a wanted criminal, Artemis," he shakes his head, and tries to pull his hand from hers gently. She doesn't let him go. "Maybe I got a little ahead of myself."

"No. You have to decide right now, Wally," she warns him. "I'm your ticket out. You don't have to be a hero, but you can be the good person I know you are."

"You sure they won't beat me up?"

She nods and squeezes his hand. "They'll have to go through me."

"Alright," he relents with an exaggerated sigh. He holds out his wrists. "Take me in, copper."

_Artemis, we're outside. _

_Coming, _she pulls Wally to the door.

She turns and asks, "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be."

-o-

"No."

"But Batman said-"

Conner interrupts her. "Batman said we could decide. And we're saying no. You're the only one on his side, Artemis."

She watches Kid Flash through the one-way glass. His head is in his hands, as he waits for the team's verdict. _He just wants a chance._

"If you'd just give him a chance," she pleads, turning to Robin for support. The younger boy doesn't acknowledge her, and keeps staring at Wally through the glass.

"Why are you defending him? He was raised by the Flash." Robin asks quietly.

"Yeah, well," she feels her anger bubbling to the surface, "you can't pick your family. He's not like the Flash."

"He kidnapped you," M'gann reminds her.

"I could've left whenever I wanted to. We talked. You guys have to trust me on this one," she swallows. "He's a good person."

"I believe you," Kaldur admits. "But the team needs to make this decision as a whole. Perhaps we should each speak to Kid Flash, alone."

Artemis sputters, "Y-you can't just go and interrogate him like that. He'll feel threatened."

"You're the one who's acting threatened, Artemis." Roy quips from the wall he's leaning against.

"You don't get a say. Why are you even here?" Artemis glares at the other archer.

"I'm here to make sure _he_ doesn't get away."

"Well you can leave, because he's not going to try," Artemis crosses her arms. "I told you. He wants to be here."

"The Flash probably told him to lure you-"

"Would you _stop_talking about the Flash? This is about Wally!" _Oh shit._

"_Wally_?"

"I-It, uh," she gives up. "It's his name."

"He told you his name?" Robin asks, finally turning away from the glass.

"Yeah, he trusts me," she affirms.

Roy points at Wally, "But how can you trust him?"

"Because he's like me!" Artemis growls, and angrily walks up to the computer in the room. She pulls up a holographic screen, but before she presses enter on her searches, she looks at her friends with pleading eyes. "You guys trust me, right?"

As everyone in the group nods, save for Roy, she presses the button.

Photos of Sportsmaster, Huntress, and Cheshire appear behind her.

"He's like me," she repeats, gauging the room's reaction. "He comes from a long line of villains, but that doesn't make him a bad person. That doesn't mean he can't be trusted."

"Artemis, are they-" M'gann starts to ask.

"Yeah," she nods. "My family. Sportsmaster is my dad. My mom used to be Huntress, and Jade- Cheshire, is my sister."

She turns away from them to face the screens.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Kaldur asks, not unkindly.

"I didn't want you to stop trusting me. It was better to be Green Arrow's niece than have you all questioning my motives," she says, pressing buttons to exit the screens. "I just wanted a chance to prove I was more than the daughter of a supervillain. That I was different."

"You _are_ different, Artemis," Robin's hand falls on her shoulder and turns her around. "You _aren't_ your family."

M'gann moves past him and pulls her into a hug. "I understand now. If you trust him, I trust him."

"Thanks," Artemis breathes. She looks between Kaldur and Conner. Both boys nod. "Does that mean-?"

"If you are willing to vouch for him…" Conner murmurs.

"We made our judgements too quickly," Kaldur agrees. "We can give him a chance."

Roy rolls his eyes at all of them. "Whatever. Guess I'll have to drop by more often to keep an eye on him."

Robin nods, "We'll go let Batman know we've made our decision."

Kaldur points a thumb at the glass, "You can let _him_ know."

-o-

Her hands are shaking when she sits down on the cot beside him. _They know. They all know. _And the Earth is still spinning. She can't speak. She wants to tell him the good news but she can't get over the fact that her friends know about her family and _don't_ _care._She looks at the one-way glass and finds it deactivated. The room is empty. They all left, even Roy. They still trust her. No more hiding. No more secrets.

_"_What'd they say?" Wally asks, nervously tapping his foot against the floor.

Artemis swallows down her emotions and sends him a tight smile.

"You're in."

His green eyes light up and his grin takes over his face. He sits up straight and starts thanking her in speed-speak. Joy radiates from him and she can't help but feel just as excited when he takes her hand. She's still shaking. Before he can ask her what she's up to, she tips her face up and smothers his question with her lips. He tastes like summer. His free hand comes up to cradle the back of her head and pull her even closer.

_Maybe just one more secret. _


	15. Chapter 15

_**themonaisa asked: Spitfire to the last song you listened to would be great, please! :) Thanks!**_

**~O~**

_Didn't they tell us don't rush into things_

_Didn't you flash your green eyes at me_

_Didn't you calm my fears with a cheshire cat smile_

-o-

She takes the high road, literally and figuratively.

Holding back a clever quip, Cheshire fires her grappling hook at the nearest building and leaps off the roof of S.T.A.R. Labs. The hero behind her can't follow. She shoots a pellet at a window and shifts her legs to gain enough momentum to smash through the cracked glass unharmed. As her hook returns, her vision focuses on the Atlantean she left behind at the lab. He's still standing at the edge of the roof. _Why is he just standing there_\- A chill sweeps up her spine and she dodges Red Arrow's net just in time. _That's why._ She uses an office desk as leverage to leap over the archer and plant a nice flash-bomb on his quiver.

"Sorry, Red, can't play tonight," she says, muffling her voice behind the mask. "I'm late for a very important-"

The door she was reaching for swings open and Kid Flash blocks her exit, holding his head high and smirking as though he's already caught her. _Amateur._

"Move it, Kid," she growls, fed up with these wannabes screwing with her timetable. "I'd hate to-"

He moves, _so fast_, but she's fast, too. Before he can land a solid punch, she twists and all he touches is the latch of her mask. It's enough to undo the makeshift-clip holding it to her head. _Shit._

Cheshire's mask clatters against the ground, along with her dark wig. She feels her natural hair falling out of her bun and unravelling down her back. _Double shit._

"You're not Cheshire!" Red Arrow accuses, aiming another arrow at her.

_What tipped you off? The blonde hair or the fact Jade's mask actually fits her well?_ Artemis holds her breath, waiting for someone to make an actual move. Kid Flash's bright green eyes are stuck on her face and that's _so_ not what she needs right now. _So much for slipping in and out._

She dives for her sister's mask and activates the flash-bomb.

"Nuh-uh!" Kid Flash reaches towards her, refusing to give up. The mask is protecting her eyes from the light, and his goggles must be doing the same for him. "We've got some questions for you, lady!"

"Lady?" Artemis scoffs, ducking under his arm. _I'm not that old._

"Why are you posing as Cheshire?" The speedster spins around and pushes her towards a desk. She rolls over it and takes a few swipes at him with her sai. Jade was always better at this. "What did you take from the lab? Who _are_ you?"

"None of your business, Kid Questionnaire," she says smoothly, even though her cover is clearly blown and her timeframe just got tighter. W_hy do goddamn do-good-ers have to stick their noses into everything?_

_Ouch._

She should've paid more attention to Red Arrow.

At least, that's what she tells herself when she collapses with a dart lodged in her arm.

-o-

The room she wakes up in is plain and cold and dark and still a step up from the shack she's been hiding out in for weeks. They put her in a bed. How nice. They also handcuffed her to it. Not as nice, but considering the circumstances, she can't blame them for distrusting her.

"Hey," Artemis calls out, sitting up to scope out the room, "what time is it?"

A robotic voice answers her. "6:32 AM."

"Uh, thanks." She jingles her handcuffs against the bedrails. "Can I go now?"

The door opens.

"Nope," Red Arrow snaps, entering the room with Aqualad and Kid Flash in tow. Neither looks pleased to be here, but Red looks almost ill. He gives her no time to comment on _that_. "You broke into S.T.A.R. but didn't take anything. Why?"

"Good morning to you too, Sunshine." Artemis slides her hands under the thin sheet on the bed. Jade didn't raise her to get caught by a bunch of sidekicks, especially ones who are _clearly_ underestimating her. _Handcuffs.. ha._

"I don't have time for _games_." Red Arrow takes a deep breath as he settles an 'intimidating' glare on her. _Pfft_. He really has no clue who she is. It's surprising, considering he knows Jade's face _so_ well.

"Neither do I," Artemis clips, returning his glare. _Thirty more seconds._

"Then stop playing around."

"You first," she drawls, drawing attention away from her deftly moving fingers under the blanket. "Ask me what you _really_ want to know, Red."

"Why do you have Cheshire's mask? No one's seen her in weeks."

She hums before she decides to answer. "I'm borrowing it."

"Where is Cheshire?"

"Why do you care?" she asks, stretching out her legs to cover up the sound of her handcuffs unlocking. "Oh, wait, _I_ know why."

Red Arrow shoves the bedrail down and moves closer to her. Out of the corner of her eye, Artemis catches Kid Flash flinch. _Hello, weakest link._

"Look, kid, I could have you shipped off to Belle Reve in the next ten minutes if I wanted to, so I'd start cooperating if I were you."

"And I'd start reevaluating my _priorities_ if I were _you_. Take a step back, Reddy. Let me out of here and we can all get back to our lives. I didn't take anything from S.T.A.R."

"Breaking and entering is still a crime; one you still have to answer for," Aqualad comments, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder. Red shrugs him away and continues to glare _fire_ at her.

Before anyone can stop him, he grabs the front of her shirt and pulls her _way too close-_

"Where. Is. _Jade_?"

She doesn't answer immediately. Her glare disintegrates under the weight of his heavy aura. She kind of understands why Jade likes him so much, now. Her hands, handcuff-less and wrapped tightly around his wrist, keep him from actually hurting her. The tension in the room increases exponentially with each passing second and she really really wants to tell him everything but how can she trust these people? Heroes don't help people like her. _Red Arrow might help._ She knows he cares about Jade _a lot_, but she hates the idea of involving anyone else in her mess. There's a clock ticking down somewhere, and she's got to stop it before it's too late. There are no more options, no more favors to call in, no more safe places. Artemis is on her own. _Unless…_

She shrugs slowly and sadly before she finally murmurs, "Your guess is as good as mine."

It's the truth.

Her hands drop to her sides as he releases her and moves away from the bed. Artemis stares at her lap, waiting for him to question her again. He doesn't. The door slamming startles her into looking up again. Red Arrow and Aqualad are gone. Kid Flash watches her warily for an _entire_ minute before he speaks.

"You took off your handcuffs," he comments, keeping his distance.

"Wanna put them back on so I can do it again?" Artemis holds up her wrists with a half-hearted smirk. He doesn't think she's funny, if his level glare is anything to go by. _His loss._

"Wanna tell me why you were at S.T.A.R. Labs?" He crosses his arms across his chest and leans against the wall.

Artemis laughs. "What makes you think I'd tell you and not Red?"

Kid Flash shrugs before continuing his detective work. "What are you trying to hide?"

So, she's bored. Messing with him won't help her save Jade, but it _will_ be entertaining. _Maybe he'll even come a little closer…_

"What are you trying to find?" she asks, in the same suspicious tone he gave her.

Kid Flash glances at the door, probably wishing his friends would return. When he looks back at her, he asks, "Why'd you have to tick off Red Arrow like that?"

"It's not _my_ fault he's got such a short fuse," she answers, miming an explosion with her hands.

He uncrosses his arms, pushes off the wall, and groans, "Why are you so difficult?"

"Why are _you_ so annoying?" Artemis pulls her knees to her chest and glares at him from the bed.

Kid Flash stares at her (_again_) for a long moment. Maybe she blew his mind. Probably not, but he's being kind of creepy. Just before she can tell him to take a picture, he sighs.

Taking a step towards the bed, he frustratedly asks, "Who _are_ you?"

_Too close, Flash Boy._

"I'm Alice," she says plainly, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, "and I'm out of here."

Jumping towards him, she grabs his gloves, twists his hands, and uses her momentum to toss him to the floor. His eyes flash with adrenaline, anger, and a bit of awe, but before he can stop her, she elbows him in the nose and _runs_.

-o-

Halfway down the hall, a green girl knocks her unconscious.

-o-

TBC.


	16. Chapter 16

**_We found Wonderland...Now, let's get the hell out before we die. pt.2 of ? {pt.1}_**

**_~o~_**

When she wakes up (_again_), she's in an actual holding cell. She asks for the time (_again_). No one replies. With a great huff, Artemis stands and approaches the pulsating glass in front of her. Her handcuffs have been upgraded, keeping her hands in front of her and fully enclosed. She holds the heavy metal up and strains her aching arms.

_Pretty tough stuff._

She glances from the glass, to her handcuffs, then back to the glass.

_Nah_, she shakes her head and puts her brain to work. Escaping won't be that easy, not after her last attempt. She's going to have to lay _most_ of her cards out on the table if she wants to get free and find Jade in time. The clock is always ticking, and in the final minutes, even the most desperate of plays are worth the risk.

"Hey!" Artemis calls out. Someone has to be listening. There's no way they left her alone again. "Red Arrow! I need to talk to you!"

She _lightly_ taps her handcuffs against the glowing glass and makes more noise.

"Cheshire's in trouble!" She hits the glass harder, once with the cuffs, twice with her foot. "I can't help her from here, Asshole!"

Just as she swings her arms back to hit the glass again, the barrier slides up and the green- Martian from earlier appears out of thin air.

"Hi, Artemis," she chirps, floating just out of arms reach. "I'm Miss Martian."

"Did you just-" Artemis stumbles over her words before she glares at the alien. "My name is Alice."

"Oh," the martian gives her a knowing look, "alright then. If you say so."

'Artemis' doesn't belong in the mouth of anyone but her sister. No one else has earned the right to call her that, especially not this preppy, nosey alien chick.

Artemis takes a menacing step towards her and asks, "Where's Red Arrow?"

"Right here," says the archer, rounding the corner of the hall.

"Do you _always_ have to make an entrance?" Artemis asks, unimpressed. No wonder Jade likes him.

"You called me down here. Talk."

"You might want to send your guard dog away while we chat," Artemis says, jerking her bound hands towards Miss Martian. "I don't trust her."

The martian gasps, offended, and that's exactly how Artemis wants her to feel.

Red raises a brow at his friend, who flies out of the hall while giving Artemis a hurt pout. _Good_, Artemis thinks, glaring at the corner Miss Martian turned. She snooped around her brain- invaded her privacy- and that's _so_ not going to fly. _I'll deal with her later_, she thinks, tapping her foot against the ground.

Red Arrow mimics her move.

"_Well_? You're the interrogator here. Ask and you shall receive," Artemis says, gesturing at herself with the heavy handcuffs. Her left shoulder pops.

"Who are you and how do you know Cheshire?"

Artemis lifts her chin and gives him her best Jade-impression."Don't you see the resemblance?"

His eyes narrow. "Jade-… never said anything about having a sister."

"Do you really think she would?"

"Good point," he reluctantly admits. "What kind of trouble has she gotten herself into now?"

"The big kind, but it wasn't _all_ her fault." Artemis stares at the watch on his wrist. "What time is it?"

"7:13, Eastern Standard. Why?"

"We're going to S.T.A.R. Labs right now," she demand, taking quick strides towards Red Arrow. _Tick tock, you're on the clock._ "I've got less than 5 hours to find Jade before it's too late. I almost had her but then you showed up and the only way I can still save her is to get the flashdrive that I left at S.T.A.R. and use the program to-"

"Crack the code the League of Shadows left on your phone?" Robin drops from above, scaring her into stopping her stride. He spins her flashdrive between his fingers and smirks. "It's already done."

-o-

The cabin of Miss Martian's aircraft is dead silent and it's _annoying_. It's not for lack of communication. _Oh, no. _There's plenty of talking going on, if the expressions of the mix-matched sidekicks are any indication of conversation.

"You know," Artemis starts, turning in her seat to interrupt their psychic conversation, "I was going to do this on my own, but you offered to help. To assist. Which means that keeping me out of the loop during the planning process is not cool."

Kid Flash rolls his eyes. "Breaking my nose wasn't cool, but you don't hear me-"

"_Complaining_?" She scoffs. "You're right. I haven't heard you complaining. I haven't heard any of you say anything! That's because you've all been communicating through some sort of psychic connection and leaving me in the dark when we're about to find out if my sister lives or _dies_."

Kid Flash, Miss Martian, and Superboy shift uncomfortably as her tone rises.

"Alice," Aqualad's calm voice draws her attention. "We meant no disrespect and the gravity of the situation is not lost on us. Miss Martian, if you would link our guest with-"

Artemis quickly shakes her head. "Oh no, I don't want her in my brain again. Having the rest of you pawing through my thoughts isn't happening-"

"That's not how it works," Robin interrupts her. "It has limited access, kind of like a walkie-talkie. You have to focus on communicating before anything goes through the link. No one's going to know anything you don't want them to."

She gnaws at her lip before relenting. "Can't we just talk out loud? For now?"

"On the mission, we won't be able to use radios because the Shadows will hear us. It'd be better to get used to the feeling now so you can focus later." Robin shrugs apologetically.

Miss Martian glances at her for approval.

"Ugh, _fine_."

In an instant, Artemis feels a tug on her consciousness. She shivers and rolls her shoulders back.

_He's right. This is weird._

Robin smirks at her as his voice rings in her head. _Told ya._

_Now, our options?_ Aqualad defers to Red Arrow.

_The decoded message on your phone held a set of directions. They lead to an abandoned waterpark in the Mojave Desert. The Shadows that took Cheshire want you to go after them on your own. We'll be able to surprise them with our numbers, but it's going to be damn near impossible to get in and out undetected. We also don't know what their motives are. Any guesses?_

Artemis stares at the ground for a long while. She taps her cuffs against her seat before she answers, _It's a test._

_A test?_ Superboy tilts his head.

_A test._ Artemis nods slowly and the pieces of the puzzle come together in her mind. Her heart pounds faster and every moment since her mother's death flies through her thoughts and she has to fight to keep _those_ images out of the mind link.

_What kind of test?_ Aqualad asks cautiously.

_The initiation kind._ She replies irritably, before a steady stream of curses fill the connection and she tries in vain to control her thoughts. _I- I need-_

"Okay, this isn't helping me think right now," she mumbles, awkwardly tossing her ponytail over her shoulder with her still-handcuffed hands. A pin slips out of the back of her earring and into a crack in the cuffs. She spins around in her chair, cutting the connection on her end. The group isn't pleased. They're probably talking about her- saying she's nuts, untrustworthy, a bitch, or all three. She's never been great at hiding her emotions, but even Jade had a hard time keeping it all together when the Shadows first noticed her. Now, it's Artemis's turn and she's already _screwed_.

The coming trial is the worst kind of test; the right answers are wrong. No matter what she does, she fails.

_C'mon, Artemis, think_. Unfortunately, all her mind can conjure up is an image of her father shaking his head and saying, _I thought Jade taught you better. One more strike and you're out, Baby Girl. Better luck next game._ Though she could do without the sports metaphors (and the image of her father), she knows exactly what her brain is trying to tell her. She needs a miracle, a walk-off… or a rainout. A delay._ It ain't over till it's over._

Her concentration breaks when a cool hand falls on her shoulder. Miss Martian floats in front of her with concern radiating off of her in waves.

_This is just between you and I. What do you need, Artemis?_ Her voice is a calming presence in the chaos of Artemis's thoughts. It takes her a full minute to gather her wits, but when she does, her confidence surges. All the training Jade put her through is about to pay off.

_It's Alice. And what I need is for you to re-mind-link all of us. I have a plan._

After Miss Martian connects the others, it takes only a moment for Artemis to say, _I figured it out- the only way to save Cheshire. I have to pass their test without actually passing their test._

Kid Flash warily watches her and asks, _And how exactly are you planning on doing that?_

She smirks as the handcuffs the team neglected to remove drop to the floor with a loud clang. Everyone but Robin looks surprised.

_I'm going to cheat._

**~o~**

_TBC._


	17. Chapter 17

**_Anonymous: College au, "you're baking cookies in the communal kitchen at 3 am and I'm pissed the fuck off but also really hungry" please?_**

**_~o~_**

"I have lost all control over my life," Artemis mutters to herself, ripping the lid off her sad single-serving of instant mac and cheese.

It's too late in the night and too early in the day to be a picky eater. The dining hall doesn't open for another four hours, and she plans on being tucked in bed, sleeping soundly, before then. Her _finished_ essay will be neatly filed in her T.A.'s email inbox and all will be right in the world (until her next paper is due). Then, the cycle will begin again.

"Same," a sleepy voice agrees, startling her into dropping her powered-cheese packet.

She swipes the packet off the floor and spins around to see who had the _nerve_ to sneak up on her at three in the morning. The pair of bright red pajama pants is her first hint that her night(day) is about to get a little more interesting. And at this point in her procrastination, she doesn't mind another distraction.

"Can't lose what you never had," she points out, slightly irritated at herself for not hearing his _loud-as-heck_ footfalls sooner. She continues the trek down the long hall with near-silent steps and he follows close behind her.

"Good point," he says, after a moment of contemplation. "My handlers back home would agree."

Artemis slips through the kitchen doorway and the musty smell of the communal lounge makes her nose wrinkle in disgust. _Gross_. While she pops open the microwave, Wally pushes one of the larger windows open, takes a deep breath of non-stale air, and takes a seat at a small round table by the edge of the kitchen area.

"You'd think people would learn to keep the window open after living here a whole semester," Wally says, placing a green mug she hadn't noticed before on the table.

"It was probably the new RA." Artemis shrugs, placing her sad meal in the microwave.

"I miss Megan," Wally whines. And as much as she wishes it wasn't true, so does Artemis. Megan was a _great_ RA. The new guy is good at best.

"Same," she admits, and they share a quick smile.

She leans against the counter and snickers, "Remember when Megan burned the 'Welcome Week' cookies and no one could get the locks off the windows?"

"Those poor cookies- dead before they ever had a chance to live." He wipes a fake tear from his eye. "I'll never forget them."

"I'll never forget the _smell_," she laughs. "It took maintenance _three days_ to get the windows unstuck. Three _long_ days."

He laughs along with her and when the laugher dies down she's kind of, sort of glad he snuck up on her tonight. The green mug in his hand makes a clattering noise when he starts stirring a stolen spoon inside of it (_she knows he took it from the dining hall; she has a few of the same ones stashed in her room_).

Slumping against the countertop, she starves off a yawn. Only the hum of the microwave fills the silence- until she catches a glimpse of what's inside Wally's mug. Her sleepiness disappears in an instant. _If that's what I think it is…_

"What is _that_?" She asks.

His vision snaps from his mug to her face to the wall behind her. He tilts the cup away from her and asks, "What's what?"

Her curiosity grows the more he avoids her eyes. "Show me."

"It's _air_."

A smirk forms on her face as she moves around the counter to get a better view. "You're a terrible liar."

"_Artemis_," he warningly whispers, "don't. I've been doing physics all night and I _need_ this-"

Wally stands the same second she jumps towards the mug. He holds it high above his head in an attempt to keep it away, but she uses his empty seat as a step-stool and snatches the mug from his hand. She jumps down and ducks under his arm to get to the other side of the table and examine her prize.

"I _knew_ it," she whisper-shouts, staring down at his oh-so-guilty face. "Megan left you her cookie-in-a-cup stash!"

"People are _sleeping_, Artemis," he says quickly, in a futile attempt to calm her down.

"You told _everyone_ she took it with her when she left-"

The beeping of the microwave saves him from explaining his treacherous act. Artemis shoves the mug back into his hands before jumping off the chair and running to stop the microwave. She puts her steaming macaroni on the counter before she puts her hands on her hips and faces Wally with a frown.

"Explain."

"I'm-saving-them-for-the-end-of-the-year-party-because-Megan-asked-me-to-and-I-only-caved-today-because-my-midterm-is-due-in-three-hours-and-I-need-a-pick-me-up-or-I'll-never-finish-and-have-to-retake-the-class," he babbles, but all she hears is something about a party, Megan, and _stress_. She glances at her sad, cooling macaroni and exhales away her anger before she looks into his (slightly-scared) eyes.

"I have a paper due in a few hours," she says plainly, throwing him off-balance. "I'm going to bring my stuff here so I don't wake up Raquel. You should do the same- with your midterm stuff, I mean. We can keep each other awake until we're done."

"What about the-"

"I won't tell anyone about the cookies." She rolls her eyes and starts walking towards the door, leaving her macaroni cup behind on the countertop. "Now, are you coming, or not?"

He puts his mug in the microwave before he follows her out the door. Their walk down the hall is quick and quiet, but by the time they retrieve their things, they have to _run_ (Artemis, holding her laptop to her chest as though it was made of glass, and Wally juggling notes, pencils, his laptop, and another mug in his arms) to the kitchenette to stop the beeping microwave.

**~o~**

When the new Resident Assistant finds them sleeping on the dusty lounge couches in the morning, surrounded by papers and unwashed, cookie-crumb filled mugs, he smiles, takes a picture (to send to Megan, of course), and closes the window.


	18. Chapter 18

_**AU where the Magnetic Field Disruptor has a totally different effect on Wally. **_

_**~o~**_

The blinding light disappears, and though it means the threat has passed, Artemis can't help but shiver; a sense of unease washes over her. She takes one step forward, then another, and another, until she's running towards the worn down speedsters in the middle of the Arctic, far ahead of the rest of her friends. The atmosphere is charged; there's an intensity she can't place and a pull she can't escape as she keeps running. She tries to slow down when she spots Wally lying in the snow just ahead, but to her horror, she _can't_. Her feet drag along the ground and the pull in the air becomes incredibly tangible and-

"What the hell is going on?!" Artemis wills her body to _stop moving forward_, but a stronger force has its hold on her. It's reminiscent of M'gann's telekinesis, but not entirely the same. This is wild, _natural_, and, unfortunately, _still_ not the weirdest thing that's ever happened to her.

Wally sits up, dazed, and most likely confused as to how his girlfriend is floating across the frozen terrain towards him. She'd like to know, too. He stretches his hand towards her in an attempt to get her attention.

And that's when she face-plants into the ground.

"Artemis-" She sees him hold a fist up to his mouth in disbelief when she starts rolling towards him over the snow. She makes it a point to releases curses whenever her face _isn't _being slammed into the snow.

The archer takes a break from shouting obscenities to dig her bow into the snow, but she can't get a solid enough hold in the ground to stop the madness; her bow gets caught in ice and she loses grip only a meter away from Wally.

Said speedster prepares himself for the inevitable collision by throwing his arms out to catch (and hopefully stop) her. At once, she stops rolling and goes back to floating straight into his reach. The impact knocks him back into the snow with a soft thud.

"It stopped!" Artemis laughs breathlessly, straddling his torso and holding his face in her hands. "What'd you do?"

"I dunno," he says slowly, gazing at the light in her eyes and the snow in her hair and the flush in her cheeks- "but I love you."

She leans down, presses her body flush against his, and kisses him soundly. Her eyes close of their own accord and the familiar feeling of his hands in her hair is so comforting after months and months of being separated; she can hardly tear herself away when their friends come to investigate her extraordinary experience.

When she does try to sit up, she finds it _absolutely impossible_ to do so. Wally tries to help her, but the more he pushes her away, the stronger the pull between them is. Artemis curses. Wally squirms.

Their friends _laugh_.

~O~

The ride to the Watchtower in the Bioship is the longest ride Artemis has ever had the misfortune to take, due to Wally and Dick's constant need to open their mouths about the situation. They're stuck together, hip to hip, and it's easily one of the top ten weirdest situations they've been in together. Still not _the_ weirdest, but it's definitely up there. It might wear off, it might not. There's no immediate remedy, and until they arrive at the Watchtower, she has to listen to-

"Always knew you two were into each other," Dick comments, smirking from his seat beside them, "but apparently, I underestimated the attraction."

"Can't help that I'm such a Babe magnet," Wally replies smoothly, idly playing with the ends of Artemis's hair. She laughs at that one.

"Would you two _please_ control yourselves? This is serious," Artemis admonishes, glad no one can see her smirking at the wall. "I don't think you understand the gravity of the situation."

"We're just trying to stay positive," Wally laughs, and it's been so _long_ since she's heard him so happy. It's then that she figures their predicament isn't all that bad.

As the boys repair the cracks in their friendship, she closes her eyes and smiles. They're finally together again, safe and sound. They saved the world and their lives can finally return to normal, or at least as normal as it gets for them. That's all she can ask for, and all she wants. The noise in the Bioship fades away as she focuses on what really matters.

The rhythm of his racing heartbeat is _home_, and she's been homesick since the day she 'died'.


	19. Chapter 19

**_Anonymous: New neighbors AU_**

**_~o~_**

She's nine years old and in an unfamiliar city. There's no way she's opening the door. Not even if this kid leaves that plate of cookies on the front step- even though they look delicious and Dad never said anything about when he'd be back from his 'business meeting'. She's tired of eating peanut butter sandwiches all the time.

Still, Artemis is the new kid on the block and there are _rules_.

Rule Number One: Do not, under _any_ circumstances, open the door for strangers. Especially if they're wearing capes.

The freckled boy she's watching from the window isn't wearing a cape, but his image screams 'momma's boy' and that's good enough for her. Dad wouldn't like it if she started making goody-good friends in the neighborhood. She squints at the boy, willing him to disappear. It'd be better for him to stay away. Her fingers slip on the dusty blinds, rustling the plastic loudly. _Oops_. Her cover is blown. She sinks further into the couch cushion, hiding her face in her hands. She can almost hear Jade saying, _'What a good Shadow you'd make.'_

"Hey!" the boy whines. "I saw you."

_Just stay down, Artemis. _

There's a tap on the window. Then another. And another.

"My mom made you cookies." The tapping doesn't stop. "Welcome to Keystone?"

Artemis slides down the couch and sits on the floor. She can see the outline of the boy's face through the cracks in the blinds. He stops tapping.

"I'm just going to leave them here," he sighs, moving away from the window. "You should get them before the raccoons do. They're _really_ good."

Artemis doesn't move; she waits and listens. The plate taps against the cracked concrete of the doorstep and rattles when he releases it. He drags his feet as he walks back towards the street. When she can't hear him anymore, she stands and stares at the front door. Her fingers fidget against each other. The hard bread in the bare pantry hardly seems as appetizing as the plate of cookies on her porch. Dad never said anything about opening the door for sweets.

She unlocks the four different locks on the door before pulling it open slowly. Peeking through the gap, Artemis makes sure no one is around.

_"People in sleepy towns like this one are always looking for things to gossip about,_" Lawrence's voice reminds her. _"Keep your head down and your eyes open."_

Eyes open: check. Head down: check, staring straight at the the plate of freshly baked cookies on the ground. They look even better up close. She picks up her treats quickly, but before she can get back into the house with her prize, her eyes catch the boy watching her from across the street. She freezes momentarily, eyes wide and searching for escape.

He waves.

She slams the door.

**~o~**

Two weeks later, Lawrence has her pack her bags and they slip out of town in the middle of a dark, summer night. As they drive out of the neighborhood, she turns around in her seat and stares back towards the house where the boy who brought the cookies lived. Every day, he'd come back, tap on the window, and ask if she wanted to play with him and the other kids on the block. She never got his name because she never bothered to answer.

He brought her sweets, sometimes, when he thought they'd draw her out long enough to play. His mom came with him once. Artemis had been extra quiet that time. Jade would've been proud.

"Eyes up front, Baby Girl," her father clips. "Doesn't do you any good to look back."

Artemis sighs, returning to her seat and crossing her arms. Where they're going, she isn't sure, but this is her life now so she's got to suck it up and tough it out. Maybe someday -when she's all grown up and Mom is out of prison and Dad isn't so mean and Jade comes back- she'll come back to Keystone.

She mulls it over as she watches the suburbs sink out of sight in the sideview mirror.

_Maybe someday._


	20. Chapter 20

_I posted this: Sometimes I imagine Artemis writing a birthday card or a note to one of her friends and when she signs it, she automatically writes 'Love, Artemis &amp; W-' and then she stops and has to start a new card._

_And then lizziegoneastray said: BUT THEN WALLY COMES BACK AND EVERYTHING IS OKAY AGAIN (EVENTUALLY)_

~O~

Jay Garrick turns 100 years old today. It's kind of a big deal. The new Hall of Justice is filled with heroes, young and old, milling about with light hearts and full stomachs. One of the youngest attendees of the biggest party he's ever known pulls on the skirt of Artemis's dress with a hard tug.

Artemis stops people watching at the edge of the makeshift dance floor and reaches down to scoop the toddler up off the ground.

"Oh, Donny, if you wanted to dance, all you had to do was ask." She playfully taps the tike's nose. He giggles in her grasp.

"Dance, Miss," he nods quickly, smiling with sunshine in his eyes. She'd never say no.

She moves him into a more comfortable position on her hip and they sway back and forth in between all the others dancing to the live band. They pass by Donna and Roy swing dancing, M'gann and Gar performing a dance they obviously prepared just for the occasion, and Bart and Jaime trying to get Red Tornado to do the robot, before the pair finally run into Iris and Barry slow dancing with little Dawn in between them. Don's bright smile turns into a frown not fit for a three year old's face when he spots his sister.

"Someone's jealous," Artemis whispers to Iris, scooting closer. Don bristles when Dawn looks at him and hugs their father tighter.

"_Momma_," he whines, and he unwraps his arm from Artemis's neck to reach for his parents. Iris and Barry laugh and add their son to their huddle. Artemis lets them have their moment and dances her way back to the edge of the dance floor. A hand on her elbow leads her to spin around and stay dancing.

"Zee-"

The magician spins her in a circle before asking, "What's your rush?"

Artemis slips out of her grip and jerks a thumb towards the gift table. "I just realized I forgot to get the card out of my coat. I'll be right back, okay? Don't let them finish this song without me."

Zatanna smirks, nods, and quietly chants, "_Taeper eht gnos_."

Artemis rushes over to the coat check and hands her stub to one of the attendants. As she waits for them to bring her coat, she hears a low rumble emanate from somewhere outside the Hall. _It's not raining, is it?_

When the attendant hands her her coat, Artemis asks, "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"It sounded like-" she shakes her head. "Nevermind. Thanks."

She takes the coat to an empty table and pulls out the card she picked out for Jay. It's then that she hears Barry's voice telling everyone to get ready for the cake. _Shit_. She opens up the card and berates herself for forgetting. _Pen-Pen-Pen._ She digs through her purse for a pen. _Hurry, hurry-_

She quickly scrawls, '_Wishing you the happiest of birthdays and the best slice of cake, Artemis &amp; W_-'

_Oh_. All thoughts of rushing leave her mind. They're replaced by ones that make her eyes sting and her throat tighten and her heart _ache_. It's been awhile since she's done that. Months, even. Somehow, it hurts more now than when she did it every other card. Another rumble roars through her ears, but she ignores it in favor of looking for a solution. _Zatanna can fix it fast._ She starts to turn towards the dance floor again, but before she can spot Zatanna, a blur spins her in circles and then disappears.

"Oh, come on. What the hell, Bart?" She asks, but can't spot him. Her hair is _everywhere_. She sighs and turns back to her card, grumbling, "It took me so long to get my hair to stay up."

She opens the card- and nearly crushes it in her grip when she reads,

_'Wishing you the happiest of birthdays and the best slice of cake, Artemis &amp; Wally'_ followed by a shitty drawing of a heart.

She can't breathe, because there's only _one_ person she knows who draws hearts as badly as the one in the card. _But_-

Another blur spins her around, but this time he stops right in front of her.

"Hey, Babe," Wally greets her slightly winded, grinning and holding his arms out towards her, "miss me?"

He looks older than she remembers, but she must look the same way to him. His costume is made up of more patches than original material. His hair is long and there's a scar on his chin that wasn't there before, but it's him. It _has_ to be him. Someone dims the lights so the mass of people can sing Jay 'Happy Birthday', but she hardly notices.

"How?" She practically mouths the words as her voice fails her. Her tears drip all over the card in her hand.

"Later," he closes the distance between them and the way she fits into his embrace clears any remaining doubt out of her mind.

"Wally," she rasps, dropping the card and tightly wrapping her arms around him, "oh god- You-"

He runs a hand through her messed up hair and half laughs, half chokes when he says, "I missed you- so much."

She pulls out of his hold for all of two seconds (far too long in her opinion), but it's just the amount of time she needs to take his face in her hands and pull his lips to her own. As the unaware partygoers start to sing, Artemis feels the cracks in her heart weld back together with every kiss and touch and whispered '_I love you_' between her and the man she'll never let out of her sight again.

She pulls apart only to lean her forehead against his and shakily demand, "Don't you _ever_ run off on me like that again."

Wally shakes his head, looks her in the eye, and promises, "Never again."

That's when the lights turn on- and someone _screams_.


	21. Chapter 21

A/N: Something small I wrote back in December for YJAM. I went back and added/edited some things so I thought I'd post it here. It's pretty Spitfire-y.

* * *

_Team Year One: They're Not Allowed to Have a Happy Halloween._

~O~

The Happy Harbor Haunted House gets advertised on every telephone pole, bus stop, and t.v. channel in the weeks before Halloween. Many residents complain about the tickets selling out too fast, or how the opening time conflicts with the school dance, but those who do get tickets- the 'lucky' few- try to prepare themselves for the newest attraction in the sleepy town. Pumpkin carving contests are held. Costumes are judged in advance. Parties are thrown.

Three days before Halloween, Robin drops from the training rafters with eight tickets fanned out between his fingers. When it turns out that Conner and M'gann already swore to be on the decoration committee for the dance, they end up with two extra tickets to give to some friends from school.

Artemis decides to recycle the costume she didn't get much use out of the previous year and her boyfriend decides to 'surprise' her by _also_ dressing as a vampire. It isn't that surprising. He meets her at the zeta tubes in Gotham before they head to Mount Justice in their disgustingly coordinated costumes.

They're the last to arrive. Zatanna, in full Audrey Hepburn makeup and dress, greets them with a cigarette holder in her hand. The end of the candy-filled tube releases sugary 'smoke' out the end. She ushers them into the living room with a wide, sweeping gesture and Wally inhales the candy-smoke on his way to where the rest of the team is already lined up for the picture. Artemis holds back a laugh when he coughs.

"Okay, scoot over, Scooby Doo," Raquel-the-Puppy nudges Conner towards '_Daphne_' and places the vampires side-by-side. "We're running late."

"Sorry about that," Artemis says with a slight lisp, due to the fake, glow-in-the-dark fangs Wally brought with him. "_Someone_ lost track of time."

As the team poses, her boyfriend nudges her lightly and whispers so only she (and probably Conner) can hear, "Yeah, _you_ did."

Artemis smiles and bares her fangs just as the camera flashes.

-o-

At first, the Haunted House is a total _bust_. The hallways are filled to the brim with fake spider, webs, and freshly-painted bloody handprints. Kaldur finds this out when Raquel points out the red handprints on his Charlie Brown inspired ghost costume. 'Zombies' jump out at every other passerby, acting as undead as eight dollars an hour can buy. Mechanical black cats shriek when motion sensors are set off. The bored teenagers wandering the house wear scarier costumes than the hired monsters.

_Yawn_, Artemis thinks, rolling her eyes as another mechanical Frankenstein raises its arms at her as they pass by. Wally squeezes her hand. When she peers over at him, he directs her attention to a blood-speckled, painted werewolf on the opposite wall.

"That's terrifying," he says, in all seriousness.

She nods. "Absolutely."

"Protect me," he pleads dramatically, hiding his face in her collar. Artemis laughs and relishes in the fact that no one is paying attention to them. They can be as gross as they want. It _is_ a holiday, after all. She pats his head a few times before guiding his face away from her neck and towards her own.

"I'll do it- as long as you pay me in candy," she promises, leaning her forehead against his. "And don't you dare think of holding out on me, Mr. I-Can-Hit-Ten-Houses-Per-Minute."

"I'd get through more, but think of the children," he sighs. "It wouldn't be fair, you know?"

She murmurs a sound of agreement before pecking him on the lips.

When they catch up to the others at the mid-way point of the maze-like house, a 'ghost'-housekeeper tells them to pick up some candy and refreshments from a table before they keep going. Raquel tosses paw-fuls of candy into Zatanna's deceptively small bag; the one that handily holds all of their coats, wallets, and candy bags. Kaldur takes the moment to remove all the fake webbing from his paint-stained costume. Robin helps him out, snickering behind his Jack Skellington mask as he pulls a plastic spider off his friend's shoulder.

Artemis looks over at the punchbowl full of 'blood' and nudges Wally.

"Thirsty?" she asks.

"_Bloodthirsty_," he replies, waggling his eyebrows and flashing his fangs.

That's when the lights go out.

A few people in the room scream, but the majority of teens aren't phased until all of the doors slam shut.

"It's locked!" One girl yells, pulling at a doorknob. One person dressed as Green Lantern holds up their lantern for light. The smaller kids hang onto their excited older siblings. _This_ is what they paid for.

"Hello, kiddies," an eerily familiar voice begins. Artemis sees Jack Skellington perk up and press a key on his wristband. _Of course._ "How are you enjoying my house of horrors?"

"Lame!" A tall boy near the center of the room shouts and some of the older kids giggle.

"You laugh now," the voice chuckles, turning sinister, "but it is I who will be laughing by the end of the night. For now, let's play a game."

Artemis pulls Wally away from the refreshment table and Raquel and Zatanna follow them. Kaldur and Robin wave them all over to the middle of the room. Those without masks stare grimly at the Pumpkin King as he activates their communicators. Kaldur feigns nonchalance and keeps watch over the crowd as the others talk next to him.

"Riddler," Robin confirms their suspicions. He rolls up his sleeve and projects a screen from his wristband. "Voice recognition confirms it, but he's supposed to be in-"

"You kids are the lucky few who were able to get tickets for this House of Horror. At least, that's what you thought. Luck had nothing to do with it. I _chose_ you," The Riddler laughs. "Your parents, or your friend's parents, are some of the wealthiest people along this stretch of coastline. Riddle me this: How much do you think they'd be willing to pay to save your skins?" The sound of metal plates falling over the windows does nothing to ease the growing panic in the room. While many of the teens pound on the doors and scream, the six team members tighten their huddle. "Guess we'll have to wait and see."

"Somebody _seriously_ needs to step up security at Belle Reve," Wally groans before spitting out his vampire teeth. "Anyone got a mask I can borrow?"

"I can do you one better," Zatanna whispers, hands already at the ready. "_Egnahc ruo sehtolc otni ruo smrofinu_!"

From within the cloud of smoke that fills the dark room, they make their move.

Artemis pulls out her collapsable crossbow and takes out the three blinking security cameras mounted on the ceiling. Robin jumps up off of Aqualad's shoulders to get a bird's eye view from the chandelier in the middle of the room.

One door opens and shuts quickly, letting in a robotic Frankenstein monster a-la-Ivo. The robot's appearance sends the scared kids into a frenzy. Raquel contains them with a force bubble.

"So, what do you say?" Wally nudges Artemis as he moves his goggles over his eyes. "Spooky enough for you?"

"Not quite," she smirks and fires an arrow into the robot's eye, "but the night's still young."


	22. Chapter 22

_lizziegoneastray asked: "it's pouring and my final paper is in my backpack so I guess we're stuck under this tiny awning together. do you think they'd deliver pizza here" _

_~O~_

The bus is late.

Any other day, Artemis would open her umbrella, tighten the straps on her rain boots, and make a mad dash through campus to get to class on time, but not today. Today, the cargo in her ratty backpack is too precious to risk on a twenty minute speed-walk through a monsoonal mess. The weather accurately reflects the mood of most students during finals week: gloomy with the occasional tearful meltdown. The rain beats against the clear awning at the bus stop and Artemis scoots further beneath it for extra protection. The fifteen-page paper in her backpack is the one thing keeping her from academic freedom and for that reason alone, it feels ten pounds heavier than it actually is.

_Finals suck_, she thinks, and as if agreeing with her, thunder rumbles through the air. Cars whizz by her bus stop with their windshield wipers swishing at top speeds. _How desperate am I?_ Artemis wonders, imagining herself asking a driver to stop and help her get to class. The deadline to turn the paper in is creeping up on her and if the bright blue city bus refuses to make an appearance in the next ten minutes, she might just have to stuff her paper into her shirt and risk exposing it to the elements. It'll only take ten minutes if she sprints. A crumbled, damp paper is better than no paper.

Just as she finishes tightening her shoe laces, a pair of red sneakers skid into her field of vision beneath the awning. The boy wearing the sneakers closes his umbrella right next to her face, splashing rainwater on her.

She stands up, wipes the water from her face, and grips the straps of her backpack with tight fists. _Not today, Artemis._ Instead of snapping at him in her sleep-deprived state, she stares at the schedule stuck on the bus sign.

"Hey," the boy has to catch his breath before he can turn to her and ask, "did I miss the 27?"

"No," Artemis replies quickly, keeping her eyes on the schedule, "it's late."

"Guess it's my lucky day."

She can hear the smile in his voice. The rain lightens up. The odds of her running to class go up with every passing second.

"Have you been waiting long?" he asks, and she's half-tempted to ignore him in favor of prepping for her sprint. Her manners betray her.

"Seven minutes."

"Ah," he pauses. She glances at him and he continues. "That's not too long. One time, I waited for the 12 express for _twenty_ minutes."

Artemis turns to face him fully and asks, "They were _that_ late?"

"Nope," he shrugs and slips her an embarrassed smile, "I just forgot it doesn't run on Sundays."

She chuckles to herself and shakes her head. "That sucks."

"You're telling me." He waits a few seconds before extending his hand towards hers and smiling. "I'm Wally."

She shakes his hand after a moment of deliberation. "Artemis."

"_So_," he starts, not as smoothly as he probably thinks he does, "you come here often?"

Artemis snorts and tucks her hands in her jacket pockets. "Only every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday."

"Class?"

She nods. "All my classes are in Carter Hall and the 27 takes me straight there."

He whistles appreciatively. "Sweet schedule. I usually have to board all the way from North Campus to Carter today, but- you know- _finals_."

"Yeah," Artemis grimaces, "_finals_."

Wally stretches his neck to see further down the street. "See the bus yet?"

She peers around him. "No. If it was close, you'd see it at the light on Snap Street."

"Damn," he taps his foot against the pavement and checks the time on his phone. "They'd better hurry. My last paper is due at eleven."

Artemis tilts her head before asking, "For what class?"

"Comp Lit 114," he answers quickly, "and I'm _so_ glad it's over. Morrow's prompts are the _worst_."

"No way, you're in Narrative Lit? Me too." Artemis tries to place his face, to no avail. "I don't think I've seen you in lecture."

Wally rubs the back of his neck and avoids her eyes when he admits, "That's because I'm always late, like _way_ late. I wouldn't even go if it weren't for the attendance sheet."

"Wait- I think I _do_ remember you," she smiles as the memory returns to her. "You're the guy Morrow chewed out for showing up halfway through the midterm."

"Aw _man_," Wally whines, not even trying to deny it. "That's _so_ not a moment I want to be remembered for."

"He was so red," she laughs. "I thought he was going to drop you right then and there."

"He almost did," Wally says. "The only reason he didn't was because I finished on time. I've never written complete bullshit faster in my life."

"You're one lucky guy." Artemis checks the time on her phone, looks up at the darkening sky, and sighs. "Hopefully Morrow's feeling compassionate today. There's no way we're getting there on time by bus."

"We could run," Wally suggests, and the rain falls down harder against the bus stop awning. "We could share my umbrella and try not to slip."

"That is an option." Artemis nods. "We could even cut through the Psych building."

Wally rubs his chin in thought. "We have about a five minute cushion to get there. Every minute after 11:05 decreases our chances of survival."

Artemis rolls her eyes. "C'mon, Drama Queen. Tie your shoe. We're taking off right-"

"Wait," Wally's face lights up as he squints past her. "Is that a Papa John's car?"

Artemis peers at the car he's pointing to down the road. The small sign atop the green car speeding towards them definitely has a picture of a pizza slice on it. "I think so… But why does that matter? Pizza won't save us now."

"You're wrong. Hold this." He shoves his backpack into her arms and steps out from under the awning- and into the street.

"Wait, what are you _doing_? Are you insane?" Artemis's voice gets higher after she tosses his backpack onto the bench. "Get out of the road!"

"No way, it's our lucky day!" Wally laughs and Artemis is fully convinced that she is about to witness his Finals Week breakdown in full glory. She readies her phone camera, just in case she needs to document a crime scene.

The pizza delivery car comes to a screeching stop a meter away from where Wally is grinning and waving at the stunned driver.

The driver rolls down his window and angrily shouts, "Wally, what the _fuck_?!"

"I knew it was you, buddy!" Wally steps over to the open window and leans against the car. "I'd know that scowl anywhere."

"I could have _killed_ you!"

"I knew you'd stop!"

The driver drags a hand down his face and huffs. "What is wrong with you?"

"I need a favor," Wally says quickly, as he pulls his jacket up to cover his head from the rain. "Could you _please_ give us a ride to Carter?"

The driver raises a brow. "Us?"

"Me and my new friend here," he gestures at Artemis. She gives the delivery man a small wave, still incredibly confused by the scene taking place in front of her. _It's finals madness. It just has to be finals madness._

The driver gives her one look before turning to Wally with a stony frown. He sighs heavily and unlocks the doors.

"Get in," he says as he rolls his window back up.

Wally pumps his fist and nearly rolls over the hood of the car to pick up his backpack and umbrella. "Yes! You're a lifesaver, dude!"

He opens the back door and says, "C'mon, Artemis, before Morrow skins us alive."

Artemis holds her backpack close and gets into the backseat of the Papa John's car without asking any questions. It's too late for those.

The disgruntled driver takes the car out of park and floors it towards campus. His hands grip the steering wheel tightly.

"Thank you," Artemis tells him, buckling her seatbelt. "There was probably a better way of getting you to stop. Sorry Wally's an idiot."

The driver makes eye contact with her in the rear view mirror and sends her a small smile. "It's alright. I'm used to it after all these years."

"_Hey_," Wally pouts and slumps in his seat.

"Is he always like this?" Artemis jerks a thumb in the redhead's direction.

The driver nods. "Unfortunately."

Wally takes a deep breath before saying, "You know, Conner, I'd be slightly offended by that comment if you weren't doing me a solid and it didn't smell like heaven in here."

Conner turns a corner and Artemis watches the university sign pass by her window. A buzz in her jacket pocket grabs her attention. She checks her phone as Wally tries to convince Conner to bring more pizza to his parties. '_3 Unread Text Messages_'. One is from her mother, wishing her luck on her last final. The other two are from Raquel.

_'Where are you, early bird?' 10:45am._

_'You're missing the show. Morrow's going ham on this guy who didn't print a cover page.' 10:59am._

She sends Raquel a quick '_running late, don't wait up'_ text before tucking her phone back in her pocket and readying herself to run into the building they're rapidly approaching. Conner parks the car against the curb.

Artemis opens her door and says, "Thanks again. Nice to meet you."

"Likewise," Conner smiles.

Wally pats his friend on the shoulder as he slides out of his seat. "Hey, thanks, dude, I owe you one."

"Just get out already. I'll see you at Kaldur's later."

Artemis and Wally leave the car and run through the rain towards their lecture hall. When they arrive at 11:02, Morrow sees them, damp and slightly delirious, and grabs their papers right out of their hands. For a moment, they hold their breath. _Please don't tear them up_, Artemis pleads in her mind. He tosses the pristine papers into his briefcase before slamming it shut and striding out of the hall without a word.

When the door shuts behind him, Artemis lets out a sigh of relief and Wally drags both hands over his face, whispering '_it's over_'. When they make eye contact, neither can stop themselves from laughing.

"I can't believe we made it," Artemis says with a grin.

"Me either," Wally nods. "For a second, I thought he was gonna throw them back in our faces."

"Thanks for the save," she says sincerely as she tightens the straps of her empty backpack. They start walking out of the hall together.

"It was no biggie," Wally shrugs, subtly preening.

"Forty percent of a grade is _kind of_ a biggie."

When they reach the double doors of the entrance, Wally stops her. He opens his mouth- and then closes it. She raises a brow.

"What?" she asks.

He rocks back and forth on his heels as he speaks. "So… what're you doing after this?"

She purses her lips before replying with a smooth, "I have no plans."

"Do you want some? Um- plans?"

"What do you have in mind?" Artemis opens the door and Wally opens his umbrella to shield them both from the light rain.

He smiles. "I was thinking pizza?"

"So was I." She bumps his shoulder lightly and smirks. "It guess this really is your lucky day."


	23. Chapter 23

_Anonymous: Wally/Artemis. Artemis is a brilliant archaeologist. _

_~O~_

"Well," Wally stops cleaning the shot glass in his hand and places it on the bar before he turns to face her fully. The blazing glare on his face stuns her for a moment before she decides it's well deserved. "If it isn't Artemis Crock. Always knew you'd come barreling back into my life like the one woman wrecking ball you are. Care to tell me what you think you're doing here?"

"That's no way to greet a lady, especially one who's travelled so far to see you," she chides, placing her crossbow next to her peace offerings- a bottle of gin from Venezuela and a vintage can of petrol for his collections- on the counter that separates them. Normally, she'd leave the weapon at her side, but some stiff's been tailing her since Metropolis and she can't take any chances.

He snorts at 'lady' and asks, "Come to steal another one of my souvenirs?"

"Not exactly," Artemis leans forward in her barstool and narrows her eyes. "And in case you forgot, I didn't _steal_ that arrow. I used it to save our lives-"

"And blow up my bar in the process!" He slams his hands against the countertop, shaking the empty glasses lined up beside her weapon.

"I know you're not still mad about that," Artemis tentatively holds one of his hands. He doesn't pull away. She runs her thumb over his knuckles before meeting his eyes. "_Wally_…"

He swallows as she tightens her grip on his hand.

"I'm sorry," she says sincerely, holding his guarded gaze. "I am. I should've never left the way I did."

"That's right. You shouldn't have." He pulls his hand away as though she's burned him and runs it through his hair as if to rid it of the feeling of her touch. "We had something special and you ran the second the League came calling. Flew halfway across the world on some goddamn treasure hunt and never came back. I only knew you were still alive because I ran into Dick Grayson at a gala in Gotham and he couldn't stop going on about how _great_ you were."

"Wally, I'm sorry." She stands and reaches for his shoulder but he moves further behind the bar. "I can't change what I did, but I need your help, so if you could put a pin in our personal history and listen to me for _one_ second-"

He shakes his head and cuts her off. "Just get out of here, Arty. Before trouble finds you and I find myself out of a living- _again_."

"It's a mask," she says suddenly. "Looks a lot like the Cheshire Cat from the fairytale. Barry and I found it in Qurac and I know he gave it to you. I need it."

"I'm not giving you anything, Artemis." Wally walks around the bar until he's right beside her. He grabs her crossbow and puts it in her holster himself before he starts guiding her out. "Not a drink, not a mask, not another _minute_ of my time-"

She turns around in his grasp and fists his shirt in her hands. "Please, Wally, it's important. Some really bad people are looking for it and I need to make sure yo- _it's_\- safe."

The door to the bar swings open. A man with long, white hair and a patch over one eye strides in with a gun in each hand. Artemis grits her teeth and places herself between him and Wally. Her hand hovers over the handle of her crossbow.

"If you really wanted to keep it safe, Miss Crock," the man smirks as more hired hands filter into the bar, "then perhaps you shouldn't have led us right to it."

Artemis can feel Wally's hand hovering over her hip, waiting for her to make a move. But she knows who this mercenary is, knows what he's capable of, and she needs more time. Luckily, Wally's mouth is just as big as she remembers it being eight years ago.

"Bar's closed, gramps. Get out, and take your friends with you."

"Show your elders some respect, boy," the mercenary raises one of his guns and points it straight towards Wally's face. Artemis's hand slowly moves from her bow to her jacket pocket. Her fingers wrap around the antique lighter within and she mentally prepares herself for what she's about to do. _Do or die anyways._

"Slade Wilson," she calls his attention as she presses her back into Wally. Her ex-fiancé gets the message and walks backwards as she talks until his back is to the bar. "Better known as Deathstroke. I'm almost flattered Luthor would go to such lengths to find little old me. What's he paying you? A hundred thousand? Two-hundred?"

Slade points his other gun at her and laughs shortly. "Three million. One for your head, one for his, and one for the mask."

Artemis grimaces and moves her hands backwards until they're pressed against the bar on either side of Wally. She slips him the lighter and a stray napkin before addressing Slade.

"Well, I'd rather keep my head on my shoulders, and I'm sure he would too, so maybe we can make a deal," she brings her hands up in front of her to stall for time. She hears Wally take a swig of the gin she brought him. "We'll give you the mask _and_ a map to the rest of the suit of armor if you let us go. It's worth much more than three million. Luthor will try to pay you double, but tell him you're no fool. Accept no less than forty million."

Slade shakes his head, "I'm afraid your proposition isn't as favorable as you think, Miss Crock. Luthor's only _one_ of my clients looking for this mask. I'm prepared to start a bidding war between them all. According to my figures, I should be receiving at least two hundred million _euros_ for my troubles."

Wally taps her back with the bottom of the gin bottle and she braces herself.

"Hey, gramps," Wally's arm wraps around her waist as he draws attention to himself, "You want the mask so badly? Catch."

He throws his makeshift bomb towards the mercenary and yanks Artemis along with him as he rolls over the side of the bar for cover. The blast shakes a couple bottles off the shelves and sends Deathstroke running out of the bar on fire. A few of his goons shoot at the bar, but Artemis leads Wally to the kitchen door.

"Wait," he says quickly, before he rolls back under the bar and pulls out the ancient mask everyone is fighting over. A bullet whizzes through his shirt sleeve, missing his skin by millimeters. Artemis gapes at him. "Okay, we can go."

They run through the kitchen and knock over cabinets to slow their pursuers down. Artemis takes the mask from Wally as they run out the back door into an alley. She carefully stows it in her backpack and shakes her head at Wally.

"If we get out of his alive, we _need_ to talk about the way you treat priceless artifacts."

He tosses her a helmet before straddling his rumbling motorcycle. "Less talk, more escape."

She hops onto the bike and hangs onto him tightly as he makes his way onto the busy street. They pass Deathstroke being put out on the sidewalk by concerned, confused citizens.

"Where do we go?" Wally asks, speeding in between cars to put more distance between them and the people hired to kill them.

"Just head north for now. I can make some calls once we get out of the city."

Artemis loosens her grip on him and takes a deep breath. This was _not_ how the night was supposed to play out. There's a bounty on both of their heads and a mystery still to be solved. Her finger slips into the bullet hole in Wally's sleeve and her racing thoughts slow until all she can think about is how nice it feels to be close to him again. She slumps against his back and thanks every ancient deity she can think of for allowing him to make it out unscathed.

As they merge onto the interstate, his voice filters into her helmet and interrupts her murmured 'thank you's.

"Now, I'm not saying that wasn't a brilliant escape plan, Beautiful, but did you have to blow up my bar again?"


	24. Chapter 24

_artiethemermaid: Spitfire, "Please put it DOWN!"_

_~O~_

Wally knows in his heart that this is _not_ how the night was supposed to play out.

"Artemis, _please_." Wally strains against the heavy chains across his chest that pin him to the ground. "Put it down!"

"It's our last shot," Artemis reminds him, as she shrugs off her half-empty quiver. The arrows clatter against the ground. They lost her bow in the ocean hours ago. "I've got to take it."

"We'll find another way." Wally shakes his head as much as he can, but it doesn't matter. She isn't looking at him anymore. She's rightfully more focused on the piece of cold metal in her hands.

"There is no other way," she mutters, more to herself than to him. He yells at her to stop, that she has no idea what she's doing, that she'll never be the same, but there's nothing he can say to change her mind.

She takes three, deliberate steps away from him before donning the Helmet of Fate.

It's like watching her die all over again. A bright light fills the forest, and no matter how much he wants to close his eyes and pretend it isn't happening, he can't. When the light fades, Doctor Fate lands beside him and the chains around him turn to dust. Wally sits up, coughs a few times, and glares at the outstretched hand in his face before batting it away with his non-casted arm.

"This battle will be dangerous," Fate warns. "I will transport you to a safer location."

He hates the way Nabu's voice sounds coming out of her mouth. Ignoring the pain in his chest, Wally stands and holds Fate's gaze. He never knew Artemis's eyes were so grey.

"I'm not going _anywhere_ until you let her go," Wally declares. As soon as the words leave his mouth, an explosion rocks the ground so hard he nearly falls over. They both look up as Klarion's laugh echoes over the treetops. Fate stares him down for all of two seconds before shaking her head.

"There is no time to argue. Klarion must not be allowed to reach the staff." Her open hand closes. "You will not interfere."

"Don't you dare-" Wally yells as a yellow light engulfs him. When it fades out, he's next to the empty bioship, miles away from where Artemis is being used as a human puppet. He immediately tries running back, but his feet stay planted to the ground against his will. An enormous beam of light shoots into the sky in the distance before the sound of the explosion rocks the island. Wally slams his fist against the side of the ship as he shouts, "_Artemis_!"

A worried voice enters his mind the instant he hits the bioship a second time._ Kid Flash! Finally, you're in range! I've got Superboy and Robin; they're both unconscious. I don't know what happened. There was a cave in and a bright light- and then they were down. Aqualad went ahead to get the staff, but I- Wait, what's wrong? Kid? Wally? Where-_

_Artemis put on the Helmet. Fate trapped me here._ Wally lowers his goggles and flips through every setting as fast as he can. He tries to get a visual, but the lights shooting from the sky make it difficult to differentiate between the sources of the blasts.

_Oh no_, M'gann mentally gasps._ I'm heading to you now. I can't reach her mind through that kind of magic, especially with these two-Wait. They're waking up, but-_

_You'd better hurry,_ Wally winces when another explosion occurs. _I-_

_I can see them,_ Kaldur's voice breaks through the link. _It's not going well, but Doctor Fate bought us enough time; I completed the transfer. The staff is safe. Miss Martian, get everyone into the bioship and wait for further instructions. I'm going to help Artemis._

_Get her out of that helmet, Kaldur._ Wally watches a red streak collide with a yellow beam above the treetops.

_I'll try my best._

It's what Kaldur _doesn't_ say that makes Wally fight harder against his invisible bonds. They both know Nabu is restless, desperate for a new host, and it's unlikely he'll release a thirdpotential candidate. They shouldn't have brought the Helmet. It should've _never_ left the cave. Wally grumbles curses to himself as he struggles to lift his feet from the ground. In the distance, a bright red beam lights up the night sky before dissipating with a boom. A closer, crashing noise sounds from behind the bioship just before Miss Martian flies over the ship with their teammates in tow. Superboy's eyes are tightly shut and he struggles within M'gann's telekinetic hold. Robin blindly swipes at empty air.

"Kid Flash, can you hang onto Robin while I get Superboy under control?" She sends Robin closer to Wally. "They woke up and went berserk. I don't know why they're fighting."

Wally dodges a left hook before pinning Robin's arms to his sides and holding him still, a tough feat with a cast on his arm. He nearly topples over when Robin tries to jump at him. His feet slip out from underneath him and he has to flip Robin to the ground to get him under control.

"I can move!" Wally exclaims as he moves to pin Robin's thrashing legs down with his own. "Dude, stop!"

"I don't think he can hear you." M'gann shuts her eyes and places her hands at Conner's temples. "I can't get through to Superboy."

"Try again."

The voice emanating from the edge of the clearing sends chills down Wally's spine.

He looks over his shoulder and finds Kaldur acting as a crutch for a battered, breathless Doctor Fate. Fate's hand stretches towards Superboy. He immediately opens his eyes and stops fighting Miss Martian.

"What?" Conner stumbles backwards as M'gann releases him. "How'd I get here?"

Wally looks down at Robin, who stares straight back at him.

"I'd ask the same question, but you're crushing me."

"Sorry," Wally apologizes, rising to his feet to help Robin off the ground, "you were trying to knock my teeth out."

Robin's mouth drops open when he notices who broke him out of his trance. "_Artemis_\- you didn't…"

"She did." Wally's eyes harden as he approaches Fate and Kaldur.

"Kid, wait-" Kaldur puts himself between them but Wally runs around him.

"Let her go," he demands, fiercely glaring into Fate's eyes. "The staff is safe; Klarion's gone. You have no right to keep her."

"I released you because you swore to put the Helmet to good use, and yet you put it on a shelf like some secondhand trinket. Klarion has gone unopposed for too long and is growing stronger the longer I am away."

"That's not her fau-"

"Silence," Fate snaps, and Wally listens. "Chaos must not be allowed to reign, but Kent Nelson has presented an.. _interesting_ argument in favor of releasing the girl, one far more respectful than what you were planning on saying."

"You're-"

Fate takes a step away from him. "I will not be convinced a fourth time. Mark my words: this is the last host I will relinquish in this era."

Fate takes another two shaky steps back before Artemis removes the Helmet. She looks at Wally the instant she realizes she's free.

"Catch," she says in a voice that's all her own, and at first, he thinks she means the Helmet.

Then she faints.

* * *

When her eyelids flutter open as they fly somewhere over the Pacific, Wally pretends he hasn't been pacing by her side ever since they took off towards Mount Justice.

"Oh, you're awake," he notes with a practiced air of surprise. "How're you feeling?"

"Like I just lost a cage match against Gorilla Grodd," she groans, sitting up slowly.

She releases a long breath before turning to him with an unreadable expression. He probably has dirt on his face from his tussle with Robin. _Nice_, he thinks, rubbing at his cheek with his good hand.

"What?" he asks, after she tilts her head and smiles at him.

"Nothing," she snorts, shaking her head. "I was- thinking about something Kent told me."

_Oh boy._ Wally feels his face begin to burn. Dirt is the least of his worries now. "What did he tell you?"

Artemis smirks and Wally feels his traitorous heart _flutter_.

"Guess."


	25. Chapter 25

_a request by geekdad, angsty love._

_~O~_

Things are different now; they're learning to live with it.

"He took the _dog_. I need to know he's somewhere safe," Artemis snaps at her phone. "Are they at your place or not?"

The sound of a dog whining gets drowned out by Dick's short 'you've got the wrong number' and the click of the line going dead. _Perfect_. She locks her phone and slams it on the countertop before covering her face with her hands. Wally's at Dick's apartment, hiding from her once again. She glares through the cracks between her fingers at the empty champagne flute in front of her. An engagement ring mocks her from the bottom of the glass.

"Should've left it where I found it," she mumbles to the food-filled kitchen.

The timer on the oven chimes and Artemis flicks the off switch with far more force than necessary. She's more careful about taking out the cheesecake and putting it in a safe spot to cool. If it's going to be a 'bad' night, they're going to need it later. Bad nights don't happen as often as they used to, but it's not because he's better at coping; the only thing he's gotten better at is lying. She's gotten better at pretending everything's okay.

Some things she understands. Coming back from the dead isn't easy. There's a lot to deal with: the stares, the feeling that everyone has moved on, the process of phasing back into society. She couldn't sleep for months after 'coming back', but that had a lot to do with the empty bed she had returned to.

Other things, she has a harder time wrapping her head around. He says he never actually died, but she can't tell if that's another lie. She hopes it's the truth. The place he went to when the chrysalis energy transported him wasn't a pleasant place. It was, as he described, a place made entirely of _speed_. He got home by tapping into that speed and using it as a portal. There's more to it, she knows, but he won't explain. She's getting sick of hearing '_I'm just glad it worked_'. But it's her own fault he won't talk to her.

Outside, a Gothamite sets off an illegal firework. The blast shakes the windows of their apartment and sets Artemis off. She tips over the champagne glass and the ring clinks against the countertop.

They're stuck in a loop of lies and pain and won't slow down long enough to get out of it. He runs when he should talk and it hurts to think he doesn't believe he can talk to her anymore. It stings more than the icy Arctic wind on that day in June when she lost him, when he ran ahead and didn't slow down to tell her his plan.

Running away without a word is what got them into this mess in the first place.

Artemis grabs her keys, puts on the damn ring, and leaves the apartment with only one resolution for the New Year.

_No more running._

Breaking into Dick's apartment is much easier than she anticipated, considering the door is unlocked when she arrives. It opens without a sound, but she's caught the moment she closes it behind her. Brucely runs at her at full speed, sliding into her legs when he's unable to stop on Dick's slippery hardwood floor. Artemis bites her lip, rubs the dog's head, and shakes out the leg that bore the brunt of the impact._That's gonna leave a mark._

Dick pokes his head into the hall to greet his intruder. The party hat on his head is off-center. Artemis is 95% sure it's on purpose. As she walks further into the apartment, Dick sends her a warning look. She slows to a stop and lets Dick come to her while she's still out of Wally's sight.

Their voices overlap when they whisper, "He's in the kitchen."

"Happy freakin' New Year," Artemis mutters, as she gives him a quick hug. "Brucely has to pee."

He gets the message and puts a hand on her shoulder. "I'll take him. Just let me grab a jacket- you're freezing."

She doesn't feel cold until he says that. Her jeans and thin, black turtleneck aren't exactly winter weather appropriate and she'd been too focused on Wally to remember her own jacket.

"Is he…?" She motions towards the doorway that leads into the kitchen.

"He's at a five right now." Dick shrugs as he opens his coat closet and pulls out a warm jacket- and Brucely's leash. The dog rushes to him as soon as the leash falls into his line of vision.

Artemis grimaces for a moment before standing up straighter and taking a slow, deep breath. A five. She can handle a five.

"Good luck," Dick says, guiding Brucely out the door. Artemis nods at him until the door shuts.

She makes it to the kitchen doorway before freezing up. The ride to Bludhaven wasn't long but it gave her enough time to figure out exactly what she needed to say, enough time to realize what she's been doing wrong for _weeks_. One more deep breath later, she steps into the kitchen and up to the barstool Wally has made his refuge. His upper body is slumped over the tall island in front of him and his face is hidden in his crossed arms. The ring on her finger gets stuffed into her pocket as she walks around the island and opens a cabinet above her head. She takes out three mugs and places them on the counter beside Wally's head. He doesn't move. Artemis opens the refrigerator and rolls her eyes at the sight of so many takeout containers. She pushes what she assumes is last night's dinner out of the way to get to the unopened carton of milk at the back of the shelf. After a quick date check, she places that on the counter too. As she moves around Dick's kitchen, Artemis takes care not to touch the timebomb on the barstool.

It isn't until she gently presses a mug full of hot chocolate into his hand that Wally chooses to acknowledge her existence. He sits up and stares at the mug between his hands. It's no coincidence his mug has the Flash symbol on it.

"I'm sorry," slips out of her mouth before he can turn to look at her. When he does turn to face her, she continues. "I shouldn't have done that."

Wally shrugs his shoulders, turns back to his drink, and mumbles, "S'okay."

"It's not," she replies, moving to sit in the barstool beside him. "I've been so selfish."

He sends her a questioning glance.

"After you came back, I thought-" she pauses to take a steadying breath. Her fingers itch to reach out to him, but she holds herself back and continues. "I thought we could go back to normal. Roll with the punches. Pick up from where we left off. When you said you were okay, I knew you were lying, but I didn't say anything because I wanted to believe it was true. But that's not what you needed. You needed someone to call you out, and _it should've been me_, but for once, it wasn't," her voice cracks as she caves and places a shaking hand over his tense wrist. "I wasn't there for you like I should've been. I ignored the lies, and the signs- I don't blame you for running because I was running, too- when I should've- _God_, Wally, I'm so sorry."

Artemis pulls her hand back to stop her tears in their tracks. Her soft sobs refused to be stopped so easily. Wally puts down his mug, turns in his seat to face her fully, and extends his hands towards her.

"C'mere," he says, his voice thick and shaky.

Artemis slides off the barstool and doesn't think twice about wrapping her arms around his torso and crying in his arms. He places his chin atop her head and holds her close and it feels like the most genuine moment they've had since he first came back. When her sobs turn to hiccups, he takes a deep breath.

"When I was in the Speed Force," he begins, "time didn't pass the same way it does on Earth. Out here, I was gone for four months, but in there, it felt more like four weeks. I was completely alone for a month and all I could think about was getting back to you. That's the only thing that got me through, what _saved_ me. I knew _exactly_ which way to go when I thought of you. I wouldn't have found my way out without you, Babe."

His voice tightens. She rubs circles across his back until he clears his throat and tries again.

"I came back and everything, _everyone_, was different, but _you_, you were trying so hard to be the same. I really appreciated you trying to be as normal as possible, but I could tell you were just as traumatized as I was. So I didn't- I didn't talk about the new powers, the long runs, the nightmares-" Wally takes a long breath and she holds him tighter, "because I figured I had already caused you enough heartache, and talking details? That would have just made things worse."

Artemis loosens her grip and pulls back far enough to see his face. Her hands move up to gently wipe the tears away from his cheeks and she settles them on either side of his face. The pure exhaustion in his gaze fills her with resolve.

"You tell me, okay?" she steps on the lowest footrest of the barstool to gain some height and meet him face to face. His hands move to hold her waist and keep the barstool balanced. "You tell me when you're hurting. You tell me what you need. I love you, and we are a _team_. If something is ever too much for one of us to handle, we don't run- we face it together."

Wally nods slowly, pursing his lips in thought. His hand travels down from her waist to her hip before he swipes a finger into her jean pocket and pulls out the ring that sparked his impromptu trip to Bludhaven. Artemis's breath catches in her throat. He flips it in between his fingers for a long while before looking at her with a burning question in his red-rimmed eyes.

"Together?" he asks, holding the ring in the small space between them.

"Together," she answers with a single, steadfast nod, before pressing a firm kiss to his lips. He responds to her with a lightness she hasn't felt since Paris, and now, she's sure- this will be their year.


End file.
